Handbagged – The Lowry, Salford

Writer: Moira Buffini

Director: Alex Thorpe

For 11 years between 1979 and 1990, things were being done differently in the UK. For the first time ever, two women were in charge, Queen Elizabeth II as reigning monarch and Margaret Thatcher as both the first female and the longest-serving Prime Minister to date. As part of their notoriously complex working relationship, the Queen held weekly “audiences” with Thatcher in which they would discuss matters of government in an entirely private setting. Moira Buffini’s stripped back comedy speculates on what the nuances of this relationship may have been, providing a fly on the wall perspective of these weekly and unimaginably high stake tête-à-têtes over tea and scones.

Handbagged smashes the fourth wall and chucks realism out the window. Both Thatcher and the Queen are portrayed by two actors, portraying an older and younger version of each woman. All four are onstage throughout, with the younger versions (Sarah Moyle and Morag Cross) watched over and frequently heckled by their elder incarnations (Morag Cross and Helen Reuben). Moyle and Reuben’s portrayal of the Queen are particularly spectacular, with Moyle’s visibly stiff upper lip and Reuben’s dry witty asides and cut glass accent giving uncanny echoes of the former monarch.

The show’s conceit, while intriguing, is also its limitation. We never stray outside into the wider world and the cast’s characterisations, while performed with gusto and finesse, start to feel a bit tired and one note after an hour or so. The comedic balance strays too far into the cartoonish, and as the audience laugh along throughout it almost feels like the show is serving as a nostalgic time capsule rather than a vehicle for reflection and a call to action.

One might argue that ‘Handbagged’, originally written and staged in 2013, is an appropriate revival in an age of austerity, yet instead it feels badly pitched, and a bitter pill to swallow. As the actors frequently address the audience as being ‘young’, it’s unclear whether it’s supposed to be indicative of condescension or whether the target audience is a younger age group. On this opening night in Salford there was a mere smattering of under 50s in the house, and throughout the show people were finishing quotes and tittering and muttering recognition at various caricatures. The overall atmosphere was of a leisurely walk down memory lane rather than an audience critical and reflective.

Child poverty exploded under Thatcher’s reign, and in a country where today over 4 million children once again live below the poverty line, this sense of gentle nostalgia brings a sense of unease. It’s definitely not Buffini or director Alex Thorpe’s intention, and the energy and talent of the players cannot be disputed, but one sadly leaves the theatre feeling like it’s only a matter of time before history repeats itself.

Runs until 22 March 2025