Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Ding dong, the witch is back! And Britain’s most divisive leader – brilliantly reimagined as a ‘prime miniSTAR’ of the cabaret scene by Matt Tedford – has never looked better. Now she’s leaving Soho for the brighter lights of Tinseltown, where she’s landed the role of a lifetime: playing herself in a remake of The Iron Lady.

Aided by some pretty ingenious lyrics, the Fringe favourite meets a movie producer not totally dissimilar to Harvey Weinstein, and her longtime enemy Meryl Streep, who has been brought in to direct. But they are no match for the woman who took on the miners and reclaimed the Falklands.

Jon Brittain’s production features satire in abundance. With the help of Kathy Manura and Rosalie Minnitt, who play everyone else, the backstage world of film is brought to life in glorious Technicolor. We meet Gen-Zers wearing the viral Uniqlo crossbody bag, desperate to impress, and the two Ryans (Gosling and Reynolds), who prance about showing off their manly qualities in one of the show’s musical highlights, Fuckable. The set has new glittering props and costumes appearing in every scene.

This is camp fun dialled up to the max. But the best thing about it all is Tedford’s Maggie impression. Wearing her trademark blue suit and a wig that looks extraordinarily like the former Prime Minister’s bouffant hair, she speaks in a tone so accurate, you might just mistake her for the real thing. You can tell Tedford has been honing his alter-ego for over a decade.

There could be a little more commentary on the current political climate, but what we do get about Hollywood in the 21st century is clever, well thought-out and a proper riot.

Of course, Maggie is wowed by the likes of Kevin Spacey and Michael Jackson. Forget Downing Street – Maggiewood is where any Prime Minister should want to be.

Review date: 23 Aug 2026
Reviewed by: Anya Ryan
Reviewed at: Assembly George Square