Handbagged to embark on national tour

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has announced a national tour of Moira Buffini’s play Handbagged, as part of the National Theatre’s Theatre Nation Partnerships (TNP) network.

The tour will begin with a three-week run at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch in February 2025, before visiting 12 venues across the country.

The play, which explores the relationship between Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth II, will then visit Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (26 February to 1 March), Cast in Doncaster (4 to 8 March), New Theatre in Peterborough (10 to 15 March), the Lowry in Salford (17 to 22 March), Curve in Leicester (24 to 29 March), Theatre Royal Wakefield (31 March to 5 April), Blackpool Grand Theatre (7 to 12 April), Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds (21 to 26 April), Belgrade Theatre in Coventry (28 April to 3 May), Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford (5 to 10 May), Northern Stage in Newcastle (12 to 17 May), and Oxford Playhouse (19 to 24 May).

Alex Thorpe, co-creative director of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and the director of the production, said: “We are delighted to be working with our brilliant TNP partners and the National Theatre, to share this outstanding play across the country.

“At a time when female leadership is at the forefront of western global politics, it felt a perfect time to re-examine the titanic personal and political struggle of the two most powerful women of the modern era, in a defining moment in our country’s history. This tour marks the largest collaboration across the country in the three years of TNP and we can’t wait to share this story with the nation.”

Kate Varah, executive director of the National Theatre, added: “Theatre Nation Partnerships is our national network with local impacts. By working in partnership with theatres across the country, we are collaborating at scale to create more opportunities for people to engage with theatre and inspire creativity across the nation, reaching over 500,000 people across three years.

“We’re so excited for audiences from across England to have the opportunity to enjoy the brilliant play that is Handbagged and are delighted to have Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch at the helm once again to share this story with audiences far and wide.”

Theatre Nation Partnerships is a collaboration between theatres and creative organisations across 14 areas in England, supported by a £1.25 million grant from Arts Council England, funded by National Lottery players.