When Margaret Thatcher met John Lennon - imagined on the Hastings stage

It comes after successful performances at the venue back in July.

Writer Ben Randall said: “The performers and the production team are really excited about another performance. We knew we wanted to do another evening after the reactions and feedback from the audiences over those two nights in July.

“We were close to full houses on both nights and, even though it was the hottest nights of the year, the audience reaction was fantastic. We got great reviews and we started getting feedback a few days later from both people who had already seen the show and others who hadn’t, hoping we were going to perform it again.

“It was clear that there was a strong enough appetite from old and new audiences wanting to see John Lennon and Margaret Thatcher have that meeting again, that we should remount the show.

“Whiskey and Soda has also had some interest from production companies. It’s such an entertaining play, the production costs are low and we have an effective but small set, so it’s perfect for a tour.

“After talking to Peter Miller who plays John, and Sara Nower, who plays Margaret, and our director Jane Richardson, we all agreed it would be great to perform it again enabling production companies, new and old audiences alike, to come and see Whiskey and Soda in its full Beatle and blue glory.

“The Stables Theatre is such a great venue to perform in and this show has always been a co- production with them so they were kind enough to find a new slot for the play.

"If you would like a top up of Whiskey and Soda or it’s going to be your first taste, please come and see us on the October 5. You won’t be disappointed. Imagine the party!”

Ben’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.

“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.”