Foursight Theatre, Thatcher - The Musical

Review in Issue 18-2 | Summer 2006

Margaret Thatcher appears on stage in style – and in a handbag. A large-scale model of the famous accessory (naturally accompanying all the performers who take on this role) opens and reveals the Iron Lady in the cosy atmosphere of a miniature living room, complete with Denis' photo and her own portrait. Between the poles of this emblem of traditional values and a tank from the Falkland War on either side of the stage, her career unfolds in front of our eyes. The events are known; the presentation, however, is unique. Directing a musical Cabinet Shuffle or steering a battleship through the events of her first term in office, she is accompanied by the other performers who change in an instant from her tap-dancing sailing crew into mothers bemoaning the death of their sons in the South Atlantic. The acting is terrific. Stylised gestures have more power than the plastic wig to evoke the infamous lady, and the choreography for the chorus transforms the stage into any environment without a single change of décor. Cooperation in the devising process has produced a wealth of hilarious ideas and unexpected connections, but if one fears that the borrowings from music hall, musical, and comic double acts could lead to a lack of political comment, Foursight Theatre leaves no doubt that they can easily accommodate both: as a gospel-singing preacher in a glittery wig, the last Lady Thatcher reminds the audience that she changed the political climate in Britain forever, sending a shiver down our spines while we are still shaking with laughter.

Presenting Artists
Presenting Venue
Date Seen
  1. Feb 2006

This article in the magazine

Issue 18-2
p. 29