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15 November 2023
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4****
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Most people would agree that Margaret Thatcher was one of the most polarising Prime Ministers the UK has ever had. Was it just because of her policies or was her gender part of the issue? The Thatcher years all fell within the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II and many a speculation has been had about their dynamic during their regular and very private weekly audiences.
Moira Buffini’s play ‘Handbagged’ – a pre-cursor to Peter Morgan’s ‘The Audience’ and his Netflix series ‘The Crown’ – imagines these conversations over the course of Thatcher’s 11 years at Number 10.
Not one, but two Thatchers – ‘T’ the older Margaret and ‘Mags’ the younger one – are matched against an older Queen, ‘Q’ and a younger one ‘Liz’. They are augmented by two male ‘actors’ who play a variety of roles between them; the conceit appears to be that this is a theatrical setting – the males playing the less important roles in a reflection of the gender dynamics of Thatcher’s ‘reign’. So, the story works through the terms of government between 1979 and 1990 with discussion on many topics between the two women, punctuated by one of the ‘actors’ bringing up issues which have been glossed over – The Miners Strike, The Poll Tax, for example.
The initial entry onto the stage of the older Thatcher is cracking; Hilary Harwood offers up a visual and aural impersonation which is as good as you get; a frisson fills the auditorium – is this the real thing? The inclined head, the forced sincerity, the pacing of each speech is spot on. Polly Smith treads the same path and her performance has the hard-nosed feistiness of the younger Thatcher – there is every possibility that the younger could develop into the older PM. Superb performances and smart casting.
In terms of Queen Elizabeth, Bridget Lambert offers a smart, knowing and unshowy performance, but the twinkle in the eye underpins the wisdom of the character which is reflected by the older incarnation by Ursula Mohan who provides a twinkle in the eye and a cracking line in asides and put downs.
It is a quartet of strong performances. The only issue is the writing only allows for the superficial; they end up as caricature.
In the role of the ‘actors’, William Relton uses his sonorous voice to great effect with fun impersonations of Denis Thatcher and Ronald Reagan to name but two and Louis Raghunathan has fun as everyone from Neil Kinnock to Nancy Reagan.
The cast are faultless and offer an abundance of laughs in between the more serious and thought-provoking moments.
Jan Huckle’s costume design is first rate; from the full ensembles to the suggested outfits of the smaller characters these do the job to the max.
The historical timeline is illustrated with images throughout on a screen at the back of the small three-sided stage; the intimacy created within the OSO Arts Centre is just perfect for the play and the unfussy set is spot on.
The play is firmly set against Thatcher; of course, many of her policies provided misery for many which created a divided nation, but there is no balance offered so, as with the written characters, there is no way we should take the piece too literally or, indeed too seriously. Division is something which is illustrated almost by accident; the gulf between the rich and poor, between monarchy and politics and, of course, between the Queen and Thatcher. “I/We never said that” is a consistent aside throughout the play; constantly emphasising the fictional nature of the piece; this is somewhat overdone as is the need to explain historical events to the younger members of the audience. Something jars in the flipping between the comedy and the serious.
These points notwithstanding, there is a huge amount to be enjoyed in this production; impeccably directed by Claire Evans.
Is ‘Handbagged’ a comedy, tragedy, satire or piece of social/historical commentary? It is for you to decide, but it wins out definitely as a piece of theatrical entertainment.
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Cast & Creatives
T – Hilary Harwood
Q – Ursula Mohan
Mags – Polly Smith
Liz – Bridget Lambert
Actor 1 – Louis Raghunthan
Actor 2 – William Relton
Director & Producer – Claire Evans
Design – Claire Evans Ltd
Production Artwork – Ian Nicholas
Lighting/Sound Design – Jonny Danciger
Costume – Jan Huckle
Finance and Co-producer – Alasdair Evans
Image – Alasdair Evans
