Handbagged
{{Short description|2010 play by Moira Buffini}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
Handbagged is a play by the British playwright Moira Buffini, examining the relationship between Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister from 1979 to 1990.
Background
Handbagged originated in 2010 as a one-act play,{{cite book
| title = 'Handbagged' programme
| publisher = Vaudeville Theatre
}} with the younger Thatcher played by Claire Cox, and the elder by Stella Gonet, as part of the Tricycle Theatre's Women, Power and Politics festival. The title derives from the verb coined{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/handbag|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219075428/https://www.lexico.com/definition/handbag|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 February 2020|title=HANDBAG | Meaning & Definition for UK English | Lexico.com|website=Lexico.com|access-date=1 November 2021}} early in Margaret Thatcher's term to evoke the effects emanating from her personal handbag, as it became an emphatic political prop and visible symbol of her power.
The extended version premiered in October 2013 at the Tricycle.{{cite web
|url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/oct/02/handbagged-review-queen-margaret-thatcher
|access-date = 18 May 2014
|date = 2 October 2013
|title = Handbagged – review |work=The Guardian
|author = Billington, Michael}}
West End production
In April 2014, the play transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End, due to run until August 2014.{{cite web
|url =http://www.bestoftheatre.co.uk/blog/post/handbagged-review
|access-date =18 May 2014
|date =9 May 2014
|title =Handbagged Review|website=Bestoftheatre.co.uk
|author =Mitford, Oliver}} The cast of this production was:
- Marion Bailey as Q, Older Queen Elizabeth II
- Stella Gonet as T, Older Thatcher
- Neet Mohan as Actor 1 (various parts, including Neil Kinnock and Nancy Reagan)
- Jeff Rawle as Actor 2 (various parts, including Denis Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington)
- Lucy Robinson as Liz, Younger Queen
- Fenella Woolgar as Mags, Younger Thatcher
- Katy Brittain as Understudy Q and Liz
- Neil Chinneck as Understudy Actor 1 and Actor 2
- Genevieve Swallow as Understudy T and Mags
The play toured the UK from September to December 2015, starring Susie Blake and Kate Fahy, with the younger Queen portrayed by Emma Handy and younger Thatcher by Sanchia McCormack. It visited Canterbury, Salford, Guildford, Oxford, Coventry, Cambridge, Nottingham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Edinburgh, Norwich, Cheltenham,[http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/arts-diary-Handbagged-Everyman-Theatre-Cheltenham/story-28190142-detail/story.html "The arts diary: Handbagged, Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham"]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122133918/http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/arts-diary-Handbagged-Everyman-Theatre-Cheltenham/story-28190142-detail/story.html |date=2015-11-22 }}. Gloucestershire Echo, November 17, 2015.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36072466|title=Queen at 90: How Elizabeth II is portrayed on stage and screen|date=21 April 2016|access-date=1 November 2021|publisher=BBC News}} Richmond, Cambridge[http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Review-Handbagged-Cambridge-Arts-Theatre/story-27973854-detail/story.html]{{dead link|date=October 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} and Bath.[http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/handbagged-review-susie-blake-emma-10336935 "Handbagged review: Susie Blake and Emma Handy star in the comedy at the Theatre Royal"]. ChronicleLive Oct 27, 2015[http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Handbagged-review-Theatre-Royal-Bath/story-28277472-detail/story.html "Handbagged review at Theatre Royal, Bath"]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151214050406/http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Handbagged-review-Theatre-Royal-Bath/story-28277472-detail/story.html |date=2015-12-14 }}. Bath Chronicle, December 01,
2022 revival
The play was revived at the same theatre where it first opened, now renamed the Kiln, running from 11 to 29 October 2022.{{Cite web |title=HANDBAGGED |url=https://kilntheatre.com/whats-on/handbagged/ |publisher=Kiln Theatre |access-date=2022-10-16 |language=en-US}} The cast of this production was:
- Marion Bailey as Q, Older Queen Elizabeth II
- Kate Fahy as T, Older Thatcher
- Romayne Andrews as Actor 1
- Richard Cant as Actor 2
- Abigail Cruttenden as Liz, Younger Queen
- Naomi Frederick as Mags, Younger Thatcher
The director was Indhu Rubasingham, who also directed the 2014 premiere.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Wiktionary inline|handbag#Verb|handbagged}}
{{OlivierAward AffiliateTheatre|state=expanded}}
{{Elizabeth II}}
{{Margaret Thatcher|state=collapsed}}
Category:Cultural depictions of Margaret Thatcher
Category:Cultural depictions of Elizabeth II
Category:Cultural depictions of Ronald Reagan
Category:Plays based on real people