Handbagged is a play by the British playwrightMoira Buffini, examining the relationship betweenElizabeth II of the United Kingdom andMargaret Thatcher, theBritish prime minister from 1979 to 1990.
Handbagged originated in 2010 as aone-act play,[1] with the younger Thatcher played byClaire Cox, and the elder byStella Gonet, as part of theTricycle Theatre'sWomen, Power and Politics festival. The title derives from the verb coined[2] early inMargaret Thatcher's term to evoke the effects emanating from her personalhandbag, as it became an emphatic political prop and visible symbol of her power.
The extended version premiered in October 2013 at the Tricycle.[3]
In April 2014, the play transferred to theVaudeville Theatre inLondon's West End, due to run until August 2014.[4] The cast of this production was:[1]
The play toured the UK from September to December 2015, starringSusie Blake andKate Fahy, with the younger Queen portrayed byEmma Handy and younger Thatcher by Sanchia McCormack. It visitedCanterbury,Salford,Guildford,Oxford,Coventry,Cambridge,Nottingham,Newcastle-upon-Tyne,Edinburgh,Norwich,Cheltenham,[5][6]Richmond,Cambridge[7] andBath.[8][9]
The play was revived at the same theatre where it first opened, now renamed theKiln, running from 11 to 29 October 2022.[10] The cast of this production was:
The director wasIndhu Rubasingham, who also directed the 2014 premiere.
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