This show was a pleasant surprise me: for one, I do not align myself with the ghastly politics of Margaret nor her party (in the past, and as is the present case). Oh how wrong I was to imagine to be an eighty-minute set looking at the “great work” she did to befall the Mother of all democracies. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this then, where it was discussed in length at how atrocious this was but that was a universal fact of the direction it took:
Therefore, when I was recommended this show I was a little hesitant. I was told it’ll lift my spirits, and that it’s a fun night out. Yes, that it is. From when you enter the Wilton’s Music Hall (a venue first for me, it was stunning to see from the gallery before taking my seats in the Stalls); for there’s Gloria Gaynor, STEPS and many other gay anthems being blared out, you can’t not help but want to wiggle your booty to the music as you shuffle into your seat. This venue has been transformed into a safe space for those at the margins to simply feel at “home” (a certain cosiness exudes here), and that is what I feel built the foundation for some great night entertainment.
Edinburgh Fringe 2018
©The Other Richard
I also wondered, on my walk over from Tower Hill to this hidden-away venue:
Will it celebrate her (ew)?
Will it make me lose my northern credentials?
Will I have my milk (inevitably) snatched?
The least of my worries were that this event would be a Conservative Party conference and that I imminently feared an indoctrination. OK, bear with me: as you know with those who watch Drag Race USA, the Snatch Game is a favourite challenge where celebrities are impersonated in a high camp-tactic way. This felt like a prolonged snatch-game, albeit with a very good impersonator and with jokes that did land. Some of the writing is a little wobbly in between, but the improv and the inclusion of recent political scandals (RAAC concrete comes to mind) made this a great night out. Where the critic in me would knock a star off for some weak writing (especially the parts with Peter Tatchell and Winston Churchill), that wasn’t enough for me to want to completely give it a write-off.
Some elder members of the LGBTQ+ community may give this a miss as it’s too real having experienced Section 28 first-hand and can never forgive what happened to them; which is fair enough, but truth be told that I had a stonkin’ great time and I highly recommend it if you’re up for having your spirits lifted with 80s bangers.
Listing details:
25 – 30 September 2023
Wilton’s Music Hall
https://www.wiltons.org.uk
Created by Jon Brittain and Matt Tedford
Directed by Jon Brittain
Starring Matt Tedford as Margaret Thatcher