Playing Maggie. Devised and performed by Pip Utton. Imagination Workshop, Street Two, The Street Theatre. Ended February 12.
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Love her or hate her, Margaret Thatcher was a force to be reckoned with. Unlike the Liberal Democrats, whose middle road of consensus she despised, England's first female prime minister is presented by actor Pip Utton,as a woman of conviction, immovable in her beliefs and intractable in her opinion. In his monodrama, Playing Maggie, Utton channels Thatcher through rep actor Simon Sherwood whom we discover applying make-up and conversing with a wig, which he eventually dons with a neat blue dress suit and high heels to transform into history's Iron Lady. Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely lends a touch of irony to Sherwood's preparations. The gradual assumption of the role proves an ingenious device by an accomplished and inventive actor. The audience readily succumbs to a willing suspension of disbelief.
With a further stroke of inspired invention, Utton breaks the fourth wall with the dramatic convention of a Q and A. at which Thatcher invites questions from the audience. Fortunately, on opening night the audience is well-informed and the questions come readily. The Iron Lady is forthright in her opinions on topics as wide as women's lib, the Falklands War, IRA bombings and the closing of the mines in northern England. She is quick to heap prophetic scorn on the weak and dangerous leaders of our time, laud her mentor Indira Gandhi, denounce the IRA and ANC as murderers and accuse an audience member of treason for suggesting otherwise. Thoroughly researched, spontaneously delivered and utterly believable, Playing Maggie is the perfect history lesson, informative, entertaining, absorbing, thought-provoking and effectively interactive.
The wig is removed as Sherwood, the son of a coalminer from Thatcher's decimated north, returns to the make-up table. In a moving account of the impact of the closure of the mines and the potential liberation from its dangers, Sherwood leaves his audience to ponder Thatcher's legacy. Slowly he dons the wig again to close the show with Thatcher's rendition of St. Francis' prayer: Where there is despair may we bring hope.
Utton's Thatcher towers with truth, rings with belief and teaches us to be wary of judgment, discerning of character and true to our convictions. Utton has left town, but if he should return, his insights into the lives of prominent political figures are not to be missed.
