Maggie's End, written by South Tyneside playwright Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood from Newcastle, is a dark comedy that begins with the death of the former Prime Minister.

The show, sponsored by National Union of Mineworkers north east area, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, Unite and the General Municipal and Boilerworkers' Union, will run from April 6-18 at the Shaw Theatre, in Euston Road.

The play was inspired by press reports that the New Labour Government is making plans to give Baroness Thatcher a state funeral when she dies.

Mr Waugh said: "When we first heard these reports, we thought they were a bit of political kite-flying and the idea would be quietly buried, but they've since re-surfaced.

There's little doubt that most Labour supporters would see a state funeral for Margaret Thatcher as the ultimate betrayal by their party and to acknowledge her in this way would reopen many of the sores of the 1980s.

"We wanted to explore what the possible repercussions of this could be, particularly in the north of England, where many communities were decimated during the Thatcher years."

The play will mark the 25th anniversary of the miners' strike, which ran from March 12, 1984, until March 3, 1995.

Davey Hopper, NUM north east area secretary, said: "Maggie's End is a great play and we wanted to bring it to the capital.

"The British public should never forget the despicable role the Thatcher government played in destroying mining communities as well as the shipyards, steel mills and other industries.

"We got fantastic help from London-based miners' support groups during the strike and we look forward to seeing everyone involved with them again."

Tickets for the play are between £11 and £15. Contact the box office on 0871 594 3123.

The writing duo are also working on Alf Ramsey Knew My Grandfather – a new play about West Auckland, the County Durham football team who won the first soccer world cup in April 1909, which should be premiered at the Gala Theatre, Durham, next year.