Newcastle play revisits Thatcher-era lives of four old friends
Peter Flannery’s new stage play brings the four central characters of *Our Friends in the North* back to Newcastle, focusing on the early Thatcher years. It revisits how national politics and industrial conflict shaped their lives, but compresses material from the television series into a production that the reviewer finds engaging yet incomplete.
The play adapts the TV drama’s sixth and seventh episodes, covering 1979 to 1985, including the miners’ strike and the political tensions surrounding Labour’s Militant tendency and Arthur Scargill. Trevor Fox provides historical narration and plays Nicky’s father, who has dementia; the cast also includes Sam Neale, Ryan Nolan, Jack Robertson and Scott Turnbull. The production is at Theatre Royal, Newcastle, until 24 October.
- The four characters return to Newcastle in a play about 1979 to 1985.
- It adapts two episodes from the TV series.
- The reviewer says the compressed story feels incomplete.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Our Friends in the North: The Thatcher Years review – old pals back on the toon as TV series gets squished”.