Moira Buffini’s Olivier Award-winning comedy HANDBAGGED is to be revived at Newcastle-under-Lyme’s New Vic Theatre next month, directed by the playwright’s sister, Fiona Buffini.

Written originally as a one-act play in 2010, HANDBAGGED examines the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher between 1979 and 1990. A two-act version of the play premiered at London’s Tricycle Theatre in 2013, winning the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre, before transferring to London’s West End in 2014, where the production was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.

The New Vic revival reunites sisters Moira and Fiona for the first time since 2002 when Fiona Buffini directed Moria Buffini’s DINNER at the National Theatre and West End. The pair will collaborate again next year on Moira Buffini’s new play MANOR, premiering at the National Theatre in 2020.

Fiona Buffini said: “I’m genuinely delighted to be back at the New Vic. [HANDBAGGED] has been performed all over the UK and most recently in the US. This is the first time (to my knowledge) that it’s been performed in the round. This intimacy really suits the play: it’s as if we’re eavesdropping on private meetings.”

The cast of HANDBAGGED at the New Vic includes Zoe Aldrich (Mags), Louise Bangay (Q), Melissa Collier (Liz), Ashley Gerlach (Actor 1), Jan Goodman (T) and Paul Mundell (Actor 2).

HANDBAGGED features designs by Olivia Du Monceau, lighting by Daniella Beattie, sound by James Earls-Davis, vocals by Judith McSpadden, and choreography by Beverley Norris Edmunds.

HANDBAGGED runs at Newcastle-under-Lyme’s New Vic Theatre from 6th September to 28th September. Tickets are on sale now.