English captioning available via Subtitle Mobile App for the following performances:
- Thu 27 Aug, Sat 29 Aug
- Wed 2 Sep, Fri 11 Sep, Sat 12 Sep, Wed 30 Sep
- Sat 3 Oct, Sat 10 Oct, Sat 17 Oct, Tue 27 Oct, Sat 31 Oct
Tiina Puumalainen’s Lady T is a striking new drama about an encounter between Britain’s Iron Lady and an underpaid hotel worker.
Maggie — a social climber from a small town who was elevated to the peerage as a baroness.
The first woman to serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and to lead her male-dominated party.
An uncompromising neoliberal and architect of education cuts.
The Iron Lady, who ruled her country with a firm hand.
A woman who left an indelible mark on world politics.
A conservative who emphasized family values yet remained distant from her own children.
Admired and despised, Margaret Thatcher.
At Christmas 2012, a woman ravaged by memory illness moves into London’s Ritz Hotel. She is only a shadow of her former self, though at moments the sharply self-aware politician still emerges. Only a very few know that Lady T is slowly dying in the loneliness of her suite.
One of these few is Linda Elliot, a precariously employed worker whose wages are not enough to live on without extra income. Linda grew up in a declining coal-mining town, and Margaret Thatcher’s policies have had a profound impact on her life.
From the encounter between two women representing entirely different worlds emerges powerful theatre about the consequences of political decisions on individual lives. At the heart of Lady T are deeply human themes: remembering, forgetting, and the difficulty of forgiveness.
On the Small Stage, The National Theatre’s masterful actors shine: Paula Siimes (Thatcher) and Maria Kuusiluoma (Linda Elliot)!
Production Team
Cast Maria Kuusiluoma, Paula Siimes
Direction Tiina Puumalainen Set, Costume and Video Design Teppo Järvinen Lighting and Video Design Ville Virtanen Music and Sound Design Petri Karhula Make-Up Design Niko Sahlman