Review from Steve Bennett at Latitude

As a strong, powerful woman Margaret Thatcher should make a perfect gay icon. The only problem is all that intolerant Section 28 business.

But the creators of this spirited, high-energy romp have worked around that problem by simply rewriting history. This Thatcher, as played by Matt Tedford, is initially only a reluctant supporter of the clumsy clause that outlawed the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools – and by the end opposes it, following a crisis of confidence and a night out in a West End gay bar.

This loud, brash camp extravaganza has all the subtlety of a Trident missile, with bawdy double entendres and cheesy, prophetic asides loudly telegraphed and never knowingly undersold. Villains are booed, panto-style, after the audience is unapologetically cajoled into action. Meanwhile easy, almost facile, points about the inequity of the discredited law are made with sledgehammer. But it’s a sledgehammer covered in glitter, and it’s hard not to be won over by the ballsy exuberance of the whole experience, from 1980s song-and-dance numbers to the exaggerated caricatures.

Peter Tatchell is portrayed with a swagger and magnetism that would do Lord Flashheart proud; while the evil Jill Knight, proposer of the hated clause, is a stereotype of sexually repression, sitting in the dark and imagining what immoral nakedness those dirty gays get up to behind closed doors. Most triumphantly, the entire team are joyfully sacrilegious about the memory of the sainted Winston Churchill, cheekily revelling in their naughtiness.

As the Iron(y) Lady, Tedford, who co-wrote the show with Jon Brittain, is well aware of the show’s shortcomings, but makes a virtue of them. ‘Don’t think about that too much, it doesn’t really makes sense,’ she confides over one clunky plot point. This spirit of embracing the tackiness is irresistible, and provides a cathartic release.

By the end, this show has not only achieved the impossible – making Thatcher a beloved hero – but delivered a whole heap of ribald fun.The real Mrs T would probably be spinning in her grave if she knew what was being done with her image,but that only makes it all the more wicked.

Review date: 20 Jul 2014
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Latitude