With Marina Carr’s Girl on an Altar opening later this month, Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre Indhu Rubasingham today announces a major revival of Moira Buffini’s critically acclaimed Handbagged.
Reprising their roles are Marion Bailey as ‘Q’, an Older Queen Elizabeth II and Kate Fahy as ‘T’, an Older Margaret Thatcher, with further cast to be announced shortly.
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.
Indhu Rubasingham said today, “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!”
Handbagged is at Kiln Theatre 9 September – 22 October 2022
