Margaret Thatcher Queen of Game Shows, comedy review: The lady is for turning showbiz

Ed Miliband has turned DJ, why shouldn't Margaret Thatcher try primetime entertainment? In this glitzy spectacular the former Prime Minister, played by Matt Tedford, goes full Bruce Forsyth. Or as the Iron Lady memorably explains here, "We have become a game show host."

Over a series of rounds audience members are amiably press ganged onto the stage to win unemployment benefits. Competitors get to demolish a Jenga-style NHS building, block the Channel Tunnel and rip up the Human Rights Act.

It is all in the name of satire, of course. The dancing assistants are named Strong and Stable and numerous imaginative topical cameos include a rapping Angela Merkel and a punky puppet Nicola Sturgeon. Tedford and co-creator Jon Brittain missed a trick not having Diane Abbott as scorekeeper.

The show works on various levels. It evokes 1980s agitprop theatre and is simultaneously a Saturday night TV spoof "Who are you and where are you from?" one contestant is asked, echoing both border control and Cilla Black.

Tedford, complete with handbag and Mr Whippy coiffure, delivers a turbo-charged performance although he sometimes sounds eerily like Gyles Brandreth. I know Mrs T was advised to lower her voice, but I don't think it was ever this manly.

Until Sunday, Underbelly; underbelly.co.uk