Cherie comes to the Edinburgh festival in a brand new show: ‘Cherie – My Struggle’
Barrister, mother, prime ministerial consort and all-round superwoman, Cherie has never received the appreciation she deserves. She was the most talented ‘other half’ ever to occupy Number 10, and yet she was constantly vilified in the press.
Cherie puts the record straight.
‘Cherie – My Struggle’ is an intimate, gossipy memoir recounting Cherie’s amazing journey from an obscure Liverpool convent to the epicentre of power in Westminster.
She spills the beans on the New Labour years, and delivers her uncensored thoughts about Alistair Campbell, Carole Caplin, John Smith, Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott, the Queen, Princess Anne, Margaret Thatcher, Gordon Brown, and of course her dad, the TV star, Tony Booth.
The show is lightly comedic but it’s not a satire or a spoof. The gossip and the historical details are drawn from verifiable sources. Cherie herself would enjoy the show. (Gordon wouldn’t).
Cherie reveals:
the truth behind John Smith’s early death
the real origins of Tony’s rift with Gordon
the facts about the Granita ‘deal’
what lay behind Alistair Campbell’s feud with Carole Caplin
the origins of Cherie’s reputation as a free-loader
how her ‘refusal’ to curtsey to the Queen was invented
what Mrs Thatcher said about Cherie’s refurb at Number 10
who called Cherie ‘Lady Macbeth’ in August 2000:
(Answer: John Bercow)
the pen-name used by Alistair Campbell as a porn-writer:
(Answer: ‘Riviera Gigolo’)
Tony’s pet-name for his guitar: (Answer: ‘Clarence’)
the identity of the US president shot by Cherie’s cousin:
(Answer: Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth is Cherie’s first cousin four times removed)
Lloyd Evans is a reviewer, dramatist and parliamentary sketch-writer. With Toby Young he co-wrote ‘Who’s The Daddy?’, the first play to feature Boris Johnson as a character. ‘Who’s The Daddy?’ won Best New Comedy, WhatsOnStage Awards 2006.
‘Cherie – My Struggle’ stars the acclaimed Shakespearean actor, Mary Ryder.
10.30 am (45 mins) Aug 2-25 (not 9, 19) £10
Imagination Workshop, George Hotel 19-21 George St, EH2 2PB
Tickets here
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
