Following on from Maggie is a Twat, Mrs Thatch is back, this time in The Iron Lady. I’ve seen a fair number of Maggie films, and my usual complaint is they’re too short to be meaty enough, despite being normally based on one event: the boring The Long Walk to Finchley (her beginnings, Andrea Riseborough), the brilliant The Falklands Play (her defining moment, Patricia Hodge) and the risible Margaret (her demise, Lindsay Duncan). And The Iron Lady is based on her whole life … Nevertheless, Streep is the first actress to nail the voice. It was like Hodge and Duncan purposely tried not to imitate her – either that or they were rubbish.
When our Maggie is a Twat preview went online, Thatcher was debated, but with not much ferocity. It turned out most of our commenters are fans. Despite the vitriol spoken about her every day in Britain, she’s either someone you love or you hate. A current Facebook campaign wants to privatise her interment to avert the first public funeral of a non-royal since Winston Churchill in 1965. That alone demonstrates the range of emotions.
I don’t see it as that black or white. Most leftish criticism willfully forgets the number of card games the state paid trade union reps to play in the 1970s, but you also have to question some of her motives. In fact, several years after the Falklands War, she asked a friend of my brother’s what he won his medals for, and he replied: “Margaret Thatcher’s 1983 General Election Campaign.” He then went to military prison.
Elsewhere, we’ve got The Tiger Lillies plays Hamlet. I’ve written a lot about that this week because I passionately believe this is a chance you don’t want to miss (interview of The Tiger Lillies).
And if you’re looking for a bargain, you can’t go wrong with Danse2Go , which is offering three ballets for the discounted price of one. For just 150kr, you could end up sitting next to the city’s top opera patrons (don’t forget your crisps). And Select Shopping, which this week is brimful of details on this spring’s stock clearances – great if you don’t mind wearing last season’s fashion.
Fashion tip for 2012: power dressing in suits, pussybow blouses, pearls and heavy-duty handbags will be the new black, or should we say royal blue.
