The title of this work by Alexandra Wood (adapted from the Hilary Mantel short story) combined with fact that it was being given a World Premier in Liverpool suggested a heavy dose of left-wing politics with a rant about social divisions in the 1980’s. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the play had neither of these hang-ups and was in fact a clever, psychological thriller combined with comedy, satire and even the surreal.
Creating a full-length two-hander that maintains pace throughout is not an easy task for any playwright. Becket’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ (ok, it has a couple of minor characters) is a standout with continuous philosophical explorations and Schaeffer pulled it off with the brilliant thriller ‘Sleuth’ by constantly changing the perspective of each of the two protagonists. 'The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher’ had elements of both these approaches but managed to add more besides.
Almost all the action took place at a third floor flat in Windsor opposite a hospital from which Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was shorty due to emerge. Brendan, an IRA assassin entered the flat under false pretences and soon made it clear to the occupant Caroline that he intended to wait for the right moment to shoot the PM and that no harm would come to her provided she did exactly as she was told.
An initial misunderstanding of identity quickly turned into a tense drama that was punctuated with a lot of very funny comedy; a good example being when Caroline initially thought Brendan was a paparazzi cameraman and asked what he might expect to get to get for a good shot to which he calmly replied ‘life’. Another brilliant line occurred when Brendan, starting to show stress from the situation, was fumbling to tie Caroline to a radiator, causing her to wryly observe ‘I take it you’re not a sailor’. The comedy never detracted however from the tense situation, with the ever- present threat that Brendan might at any moment lose patience with his captive and all that that might entail.
Brendon knew about Caroline’s lifestyle and personal situation but nothing about her character. Little by litter, the two divulged more information about themselves leading to several ironies.
Brendon complained about historical oppression and racism which as Caroline observed, was a bit rich coming from a white man to a black woman (particularly back in the early ‘80s). It also seemed that Caroline had arguably more genuine personal reasons to dislike Thatcher, yet had absolutely no desire to kill her.
The admirably detailed set of Caroline’s flat paid close attention to detail, right down to the hotpot coming steaming out of the oven. Director John Young ensured that this was a very physical production with a large number of props giving a feeling of realism (although Brendon’s M16, whilst used by the IRA, was more of an assault weapon than a sniper’s rifle).
For the second act, it seemed at first as if Harold Pinter had stepped in and taken over the writing and to say much more would be to give spoilers. The audience were given several punchy surprises and taken right out of the centre of the action as possible outcomes, past and present, were explored, as the technical capabilities of the Everyman were shown to their full extent. Eventually the story was brought back to the flat, now just ten minutes before Thatcher was due to come in view of Brendon’s crosshairs. Anita Reynolds, having brought Caroline from being a friendly chatterbox into a progressively scared woman now gave emotion free reign as she tried to confront with the enormity of what he was about to do.
Robbie O’Neil had taken Brendon from a tight-lipped control freak to an emotive man on a mission and now showed an icy coldness as the play moved towards its inevitable conclusion.
This was a very enjoyable theatre experience which not only kept the audience on its toes but was not afraid to take unexpected and sometimes even bizarre turns. Highly recommended.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
On - 7th May 2026
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