Moira Buffini’s Handbagged revival to run at Kiln Theatre this autumn

Moira Buffini’s Handbagged is to be revived at Kiln Theatre this autumn.

The original production opened at the Theatre in 2013 before transferring to the West End’s Vaudeville Theatre in 2014, ahead of a UK tour in 2015, and performances in New York and Washington in 2019.

The new revival will run 9 September to 22 October 2022, directed by Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre Indhu Rubasingham.

Reprising their roles are Marion Bailey as ‘Q’, an Older Queen Elizabeth II and Kate Fahy as ‘T’, an Older Margaret Thatcher.

They are joined by Romayne Andrews (Actor 1), Richard Cant (Actor 2), Abigail Cruttenden (Liz) and Naomi Frederick (Mags).

The revival will have design by Richard Kent, lighting by Oliver Fenwick, sound by Carolyn Downing and casting by Briony Barnett CDG.

The monarch.

Her most powerful subject.

Born six months apart, each had a destiny that would change the world. But when the stiff upper lip softened and the gloves came off, which one had the upper hand?

Indhu Rubasingham directs Moira Buffini’s wickedly funny hit-comedy that imagines what the world’s most powerful women Margaret Thatcher and Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II, talked about behind closed palace doors.

Indhu Rubasingham said: “I’m very excited to have the special opportunity to revisit this modern Kiln classic. I first worked with Moira Buffini in 2010 when she wrote a short, satirical piece about Margaret Thatcher as part of my Women, Power and Politics season. One of the first things I did when I became Artistic Director was to commission a full-length version.

“Looking back now, it’s incredible to think of the journey Handbagged has been on, transferring to the West End, then around the country on a major UK tour and onto New York and Washington. Moira and I were both ‘Thatcher’s children’ and, undoubtedly, whether knowingly or unknowingly, our own journeys, like so many watching the play, have been hugely influenced by these two women. It is a pleasure to share this major revival with a different generation, and to find new resonances in such ridiculous, tumultuous political times. I’m also thrilled that Marion and Kate are returning as Liz and Maggie!”

For more information and tickets, visit www.KilnTheatre.com