The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher

One shot could change history, as the late Hilary Mantel's short story The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher pointed out.

The novel shocked people when it was first published in 2014, and now it has been turned into a psychological stage thriller, having its world premiere at Liverpool's Everyman from May 2-23.

The late Dame Hilary's husband, Gerald McEwen, has supported the adaptation, while Alex Coupe, a lecturer in theatre and drama at Liverpool University, researched the Hilary Mantel papers, unearthing correspondence on just how shocked people were by the original short story.

Set in Windsor in 1983, Margaret Thatcher is having routine eye surgery. As the world waits to greet her from hospital, nurse Caroline’s day is interrupted by an unexpected visitor and as Thatcher’s life becomes source for deadly debate, will the trigger be pulled? The exploration of power, class and political violence invites audiences to imagine how a single moment might have reshaped the world.

The show's director, John Young, first met Mantel a decade ago (she died in 2022) to discuss a stage production. He said, “This isn't just a play for people who have an opinion or strong feeling towards Margaret Thatcher. It’s about class, about lives that collide, people trying to understand, asking questions, coming together and bridging that divide.

"I also think it's a play about what happens when people feel they don't have a voice and how dangerous it is when they feel they don't have anything to lose.

"There are big questions about Thatcher’s impact on our country, about what she represents now, and about her relationship to a divided Britain. And of course, the relationship between Thatcher and Liverpool."

Robbie O’Neill will intruder Brendan - you might have seen him in Adolescence (Netflix) and Philip Barantini’s award-winning Boiling Point. Anita Reynolds plays Caroline, and her extensive work in theatre includes the National Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Bristol Old Vic and the Royal Court.

Writer Alexandra Wood is a past winner of the George Devine Award. She has been playwright in residence with Paines Plough, and her credits include productions at the National Theatre, Donmar Warehouse and the Royal Court.

:: Alongside the production are two free events: Liverpool’s Most Explosive Decade (April 22), with Stephen Kelly, a professor of modern Irish history and British/Irish relations; and Hilary Mantel’s Darkly Playful World (May 14), led by Dr Alex Coupe from the University of Liverpool and Dr Lucy Arnold from the University of Worcester. There will also be a post-show discussion with the cast and creatives on May 13.

More info and tickets here