When John Lennon met Margaret Thatcher...

Ben Randall’s play is set on December 17, 1979. Margaret Thatcher is visiting Washington DC. While preparing for her first speech at the White House, she invites a guest for drinks. The guest is John Lennon.

As Ben explains: “Thatcher has a deal for John that could change the course of his life. With her typical wit she tries to persuade the singer to accept her offer. Their fears of the past and their dreams of the future come to the surface. It is these powerful beliefs and their force of personality that leads to a dramatic and explosive finale.

“Shortly after, John would go onto to write his last but legendary album, Double Fantasy and Margaret would deliver to the White House one of her most notorious speeches. Was it all because of these drinks...?”

Ben added: “The play won the Stables writing competition a couple of years ago and was written by me. I grew up and live in this area but actually have a history in TV and stage writing for programmes like Bob the Builder and Jim Henson’s The Hoobs.

“Our performers and director are all local but we also have technical help from the West End and television.”

The director is Jane Richardson; John Lennon is Peter Miller; Margaret Thatcher is Sara Nower. The play is on July 19 and 20 at the Stables Theatre, Hastings

“I wrote this play off the back of a night out! My friends and I were playing a game, drunkenly trying to work out who would be the worst two characters from history to be stuck in a lift together. One of the more sane ideas was John Lennon and Margaret Thatcher being in this predicament. The thought of this stuck with me way past the hangover and got me wondering if they had ever met. It turns out they never had. The more I looked into them both, I realised what a fascinating and challenging meeting of minds it would be, and what a great premise for a play it could be.

“All I had to do was find a time and place where this meeting could legitimately happen.

“December 1979 was the perfect time. Margaret had just become the Prime Minister and John was about to end a long hiatus, producing his first album in five years. Washington DC was the perfect place. Thatcher was visiting the Whitehouse to give her first speech and John was stuck in the US due to visa issues, but was keen to leave.

“The play was written. It was then fortunate to be one of the winners of the Writing Competition at the Stables Theatre. Originally, it was to be put on in 2019 but the pandemic quickly put an end that plan. Not even Margaret could change that! Two and half years later, thanks to the Stables, we have an opportunity to remount the play. I felt this was an opportunity to get this show on at long last and be part of the Stables’ amazing efforts to get theatre going again.

“ Our two actors and director are local, regular creatives at the Stables Theatre. Therefore, we have a wonderful team, creating a fantastic production that really will be an amazing night out.”