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“A rollicking ride” – Mark Lawson, The Guardian
AKOL PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS….
MAGGIE & TED
Starring Martin Jarvis and Clare Bloomer
Written by Michael McManus
Tuesday 12th October – Saturday 16th October 2021
at The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
The Drama! The Comedy! The Handbag!
“Funny, touching, and true” – Gyles Brandreth
MAGGIE: It’s nice to see a friendly face.
TED: Oh really? Whose?
Martin Jarvis OBE, one of the UK’s most distinguished and beloved actors, reprises his role as Sir Edward Heath in MAGGIE & TED at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in October. The week-long run follows a critically acclaimed sell-out West End première earlier this year.
Martin Jarvis is widely celebrated both for his stagecraft and also for his numerous radio and audio performances, including his legendary readings of the Just William books. “Maggie” will be played by Clare Bloomer, who has been described by Gyles Brandreth as “quite the best Margaret Thatcher I’ve seen”. They will be joined by Jon Glover, star of Spitting Image and Week Ending (and known as television’s Mr. Cholmondley-Warner) and Lisa Bowerman, a former regular on BBC TV’s Casualty and who is widely known as Professor Bernice Summerfield in the celebrated Doctor Who spin-off audio series.
ABOUT MAGGIE & TED
Staged as a radio play, the comedy-drama follows “Ted” Heath and his hilarious and relentless feud with his successor, Margaret Thatcher. For over 20 years Margaret Thatcher and Edward Heath enthralled and appalled the British public with their profound political disagreements, reinforced by their intense personal dislike for one another. Now Maggie and Ted are back!”Mr. Europe” and the “Boadicea of Brexit” rollick their way onto the Surrey stage! Expect plenty of hand-bagging as these two titans of British politics reignite their long-running bitter feud.
“Maggie” and “Ted” defined British politics for much of the 1970s and 1980s. Maggie ousted Ted as Leader of the Conservative Party, becoming the first woman to lead a major political party in Britain, and went on to become our first woman Prime Minister, winning three elections in a row. Ted never forgave her for her impudence, for her good fortune – or for her formidable electoral success. In due course, Maggie built the bonfire of Brexit, lit it, then spent the rest of her life fanning the flames. Ted’s life’s work was in ruins, and he never forgave her. How could he?
“A remarkable play – a fabulous piece of drama” – Glenn Chandler (creator of “Taggart”)
Written by playwright and author Michael McManus who worked for both protagonists, knew them well and researched and edited Sir Edward Heath’s biography, The Course of My Life (1998), as well as writing another biography on him, A Singular Life (2016). He explains: “I knew both Ted Heath and Baroness Thatcher – and I seek to represent them in this play, not as pastiche or as parody, but as they really were. They both had their flaws, of course, but they could also both be very funny, deeply impressive and also very kind and considerate. It is a great honour – both daunting and exhilarating – to have written the first new, political play to make its West End début since the beginning of the pandemic and I am looking forward to bringing it to Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.”
Maggie and Ted were improbable Tories – working-class warriors who became an extraordinary double act. Mrs Thatcher served loyally in Ted Heath’s government from 1970 –1974 before challenging and defeating him in the Conservative Party leadership election in 1975, to become Leader of the Opposition. She went on to win the General Elections of 1979, 1983 and 1987. Heath returned to the back-benches, where his bitter 25-year feud with her became known as “the incredible sulk”; he became one of the most dogged critics of Thatcherism – and of the woman who inspired it.
The hilarious, rancorous, running battle between these colossal personalities opened up the schism over Europe that divided party and nation – and ultimately led to Brexit. The play shines an intense and sometimes uproariously funny light on Maggie and Ted and the Birth of Brexit. Helped by a supporting cast of characters including: Sir Winston Churchill; Harold Wilson; Tony Benn; Denis Healey; Sir John Major; Sir Denis Thatcher; Roy Jenkins; our P.M. Boris Johnson, and of course Her Majesty The Queen!
“like a public hustings….The audience whoop with delight when Thatcher speaks up defiantly for women or they groan in dismay when Heath drops another clanger” – Lloyd Evans, The Spectator
“Ted”: The Rt. Hon Sir Edward Richard George Heath KG MBE
The first working-class leader of the Conservative Party. His ill-fated premiership had one long-lasting consequence: UK membership of the European Union.
“Maggie”: Margaret Hilda Thatcher, The Rt. Hon. Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, DStJ, PC, FRS, HonFRSC
The second working-class leader of the Conservative Party and the UK’s first female Prime Minister. Both reviled and admired, she ousted Ted Heath as party leader and turned the Conservative Party against Europe.
CAST: Martin Jarvis OBE (Ted Heath); Clare Bloomer (Maggie); Lisa Bowerman (Edith Heath) and Jon Glover (Alderman Roberts). Further casting to be announced.
TICKET BOOKINGS
Dates: Tuesday 12th October – Saturday 16th October 2021
Tickets from £22.50
Concessions and Members’ discounts apply
Early Bird Saver Offer Applies! Limited Number of tickets available at £20 (£15 for concessions) from General On-Sale date. Available across all performances, excluding Friday and Saturday evenings.
Show Times: Tuesday – Saturday evenings at 7:30pm
Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2:30pm
Running Time: to be confirmed
Theatre: Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
Age Recommendation: 12+
Booking link: https://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk/whats-on/maggie-and-ted
Box Office: 01483 44 00 00