Comedy play speculates on what the Queen and Mrs Thatcher might have said to one another when no-one was listening

What conversations might have taken place between the Queen and Margaret Thatcher behind closed doors?

Handbagged, a high-spirited and intelligent comedy at the Manor Pavilion Theatre, Sidmouth, is set in the Thatcher years and gives the audience the impression of listening in on private talks between the monarch and the former prime minister.

It speculates on what might have gone on behind closed doors between these two radically different women – one who did not believe in society and the other who had vowed to serve it.

Although it is fictional, audiences will be reminded of all the major political and social events of the Thatcher years. The Queen and Mrs Thatcher are both portrayed by two actors – an older and younger version of themselves – and they are joined by two male actors who play around 20 roles between them, including Dennis Thatcher, Prince Philip, Arthur Scargill, Gerry Adams and Neil Kinnock, to much hilarity.

Handbagged runs from 11th to 15th August.