It’s the 1970s, the decade of social aspiration, middle class pretensions, horrible wallpaper, Estee Lauder’s “Youth Dew”, cocktail cabinets, gin and tonic and cigarettes. Beverly is awaiting her guests and anticipating the pleasure of showing off her new kitchen. Newcomers Angela and Tony have been invited for drinks to welcome them to the area and Susan, the next-door neighbour, has been asked to join them while her daughter, the titular but unseen Abigail, is having a party and wants mother out of the way. Alcohol flows, cigarettes are smoked, cheese and pineapple on sticks and crisps are handed around. Beverly lords it over her guests as she forces more and more alcohol and cigarettes on them and browbeats her stressed-out estate agent husband, Laurence. Eventually, the power dynamic among the group subtly shifts and marital relationships teeter towards a surprisingly dark conclusion.
Michael Cabot has directed a terrific cast. Rebecca Birch’s Beverly is spot-on as she manipulates her guests and flirts blatantly with Tony. Husband Laurence, a perfectly pitched performance by Tom Richardson, gives into all his wife’s demands but also shows himself to be as snobbish as Beverly, suggesting that newcomers are lowering the tone of the area while looking pointedly at their guests. He comes to realise that he has more in common with Susan in his art, music and book preferences than with his wife, while Beverly is more like Angela. Jo Castleton plays mousey divorced mum Susan with considerable nuance. She’s drinking just to be polite but desperately wants to check on what’s happening at her daughter’s party. She is persuaded by the others to leave Abigail be, let her “have her fun”, all while the thump-thump from the party infiltrates through the wall and Beverly and Angela are happily reminding Susan of the horrors that could be going on next door. There’s talk of possible wild happenings and multiple strange men turning up. It all makes Susan increasingly anxious. Alice De-Warrenne’s nurse Angela is a marvellous character, at first restrained and polite but when loosened by drink, she becomes brash, talkative and loud, exactly the type of person Laurence cannot abide, as he sees it, a lower-class incomer. It’s a tour de force performance from De-Warrenne. Tony is a rather quiet character – there’s not much for George Readshaw to do here other than act as foil for Beverly’s overt flirting and quietly object to his wife’s drunken behaviour. Overall, it’s a high-octane production full of energy, brilliant comic timing and plenty of awkwardness as the group stumble through a cringe-worthy evening.
The set and costumes could not be better. Anyone who was around in the 1970s will recognise the wall units, the soda syphon, the three-piece suite, the flared trousers and wide lapels. With so many mentions in the play of parts of the set, it becomes far more than just background, almost a sixth character in the piece.
Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party might focus on the class structures, attitudes and snobberies of the 1970s, giving the audience much to laugh at, but there are plenty of reminders that despite some societal changes, much remains the same. A timeless and hilarious classic.
Abigail’s Party is at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley, until 22nd April, then continues its UK tour.
Reviewer: Carole Gordon
Reviewed: 19th April 2023
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★