Handbagged Tickets

Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher go against each other in Moira Buffini’s comedy, Handbagged. Handbagged returns to London with a limited engagement at the Kiln Theatre. Handbagged tickets are available on London Theatre now.

Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth II were born within six months of each other. One grew up in the north of England and became the country’s first female Conservative Prime Minister. The other became Queen at 27. They were at the forefront of nationwide and global change. But did they get align?

The Handbagged play shines a light on the weekly meetings held between Thatcher, and Queen Elizabeth II, from 1979 to 1990. On the surface, the pair were all smiles, trying to please one another and save face. But were their pearly white smiles all a facade? Behind closed doors, their opposing points of view meant they came at loggerheads. By the end of Handbagged, you’ll walk away with a new understanding of their personal and political relationships.

After festival performances in 2010, Handbagged premiered as a two-act play at the Tricycle Theatre (now the Kiln Theatre) in 2013, coincidentally the same year Thatcher died. The show later transferred to the West End’s Vaudeville Theatre. Handbagged is titled in honour of Thatcher always carrying a handbag with her at all times.

Some of the original Handbagged London cast return for the 2022 revival: Marion Bailey plays an older Queen Elizabeth II, with Kate Fahy reprising the role of an older Margaret Thatcher.

Tickets to Handbagged are available now. Book your Handbagged tickets on London Theatre today.

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Access Performances
Captioned Performance: 29 September, 7.30pm Audio Described Performance: 20 October, 7.30pm

By: Moira Buffini
Director: Indhu Rubasingham
Cast list: Marion Bailey, Kate Fahy, Abigail Cruttenden, Naomi Frederick, Romayne Andrews, Richard Cant
Design: Richard Kent
Lighting: Oliver Fenwick
Sound: Carolyn Downing