The Stage

Abigail’s Party

Published Friday 19 October 2007 at 11:40 by Francesca Whiting

It’s impossible not to be drawn into London Classic Theatre’s production of Mike Leigh’s beautifully observed drama about strained relationships and painfully awkward social situations.

Paula Jennings plays hostess Beverly, who with her husband Laurence (Steve Dineen) invites their neighbours, Angela, Tony and Sue over for some drinks and nibbles, and so ensues a horribly compelling evening of stifling, suburban entertaining as G&Ts flow freely and everyone gets increasingly drunk.

All the action takes place in Beverly’s living room and director Michael Cabot has refrained from updating the play but has kept the set, props, script and music true to the late-seventies, where houses were brought for £21,000.

There are some very funny moments early on when Angela comments on Beverly’s lovely three-piece suit (brown, of course), candelabra, table, kitchen - the list is as endless as their inane chatter.

The party of the title is Sue’s daughter Abigail, who is celebrating her 15th birthday somewhere else, and yet it is the focus of much of what is happening on stage - an ongoing subject of discussion between the characters as the distant noise of the party continues in the background.

None of the characters appear to like each other and it is hard to like any of the characters. Angela and Beverly become increasingly irritating - Angela with her painful drawl and Beverly with her affected accent and cliches. Yet, despite this, both actresses are compelling to watch, particularly Jennings, who demands our attention as she consistently asserts her control over her guests, forcing alcohol, food and cigarettes upon them and choosing what music shall be played.

She rarely sits still and as she gets more drunk, she flirts outrageously with Tony, and some of the funniest moments of the play are when she’s gyrating grotesquely around the room, coming on to her neighbour’s husband.

By contrast, the other characters are relatively still, and the more reserved Sue, who is played beautifully by Pauline Whitaker says very little, just the odd “yes” and “no”, while her facial expressions give away the full horror of what she is going through.

Tony (Benjamin Warren) is also monosyllabic, grunting and raising his eyebrows now and again.

It’s a painful couple of hours to sit through, but also immensely enjoyable, right up until the final tragic, yet farcical, scene.

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