Moira Buffini’s ‘irresistibly mischievous’ (The Independent) comedy speculates on that most provocative of questions: what did the world’s two most powerful women talk about behind closed palace doors?

First performed at the Tricycle Theatre before transferring to the West End, the play is based around the relationship between the Queen and Margaret Thatcher. With Mrs Thatcher’s death occurring while the piece was being created, Buffini was able to give full rein to creating a character whose real-life actions so split the nation. Here we have a Mrs Thatcher who is desperate to be liked and understood by a monarch who not only disagrees with many of her policies but also finds her dull.

Buffini succeeds in blurring timelines by having two actresses playing both parts – a younger Queen and Mrs Thatcher and their older counterparts who look back on that relationship. The conversations and disagreements are supposition – a fact Buffini frequently exploits by having the older characters state ‘I never said that’.

The play cleverly interweaves politics with personality, lacing the exchanges with dry humour. Buffini plays with the theatrical setting by interspersing dramatic scenes with asides to the audience while two other actors take on the guise of a host of historical figures, often reminding the audience, and fellow cast, who they are.