UK Theatre Network

Abigail’s Party

 

Mike Leigh’s career in the 1970’s

‘Leigh made nine television plays.  Earlier plays such as Nuts in May and Abigail’s Party tended more towards bleakly yet humorously satirising middle-class manners and attitudes.  His plays are generally more caustic, stridently trying to show the banality of society.  Goose-pimples and Abigail’s Party both focus on the vulgar middle class in a convivial party setting that spirals out of control.’

 

When Abigail’s Party opened I was quite shocked to see how its original story had been tampered with.  The setting had been adapted from the 1970’s which we had become used to from the Mike Leigh film of the same title,  to the modern day.   This also hugely altered the socio-political situation.  However, I thought to myself ‘give it a chance. Adaptations when done well, can work’.  This turned out to be the case with this version!

 

In Scene 1 the lights come up on Beverly (Gaby Finer) and Laurence (William O’ Connell) who have invited new neighbours, Tony (Daniel Rodrigues)  and Angela (Alix Martin), over for drinks, along with Sue, their divorced neighbour.  She is making herself scarce from the party that her daughter Abigail is having.   Angela and Tony enter and we immediately latch on to Beverly’s shrillness and superficiality when she mentions,in passing, to Angela referring to her husband: “he’s got a firm handshake, hasn’t he?!” , otherwise masking a hollow emptiness underneath.

Beverly secretly grimaces when she acknowledges Angela as being  the same type of person when she says: “When I saw you, I knew we’d get along.  We’re alike, aren’t we.”

An ultimate in comedy of the lower middle-class, with Beverly spending most of the evening engaging in snide remarks to her guests and husband, such as saying to Angela, “your house is smaller, Ange.  Cos I know they’re smaller on your side!”

(Lawrence exits, but not before Beverly has reminded him about the ciders!)

Whilst he is away Beverly talks of her last driving test.  Her 3^rd attempt!

“I’d like to learn but Tony reckons I wouldn’t be any good.”

(Sure enough Lawrence comes back in asking for Tony’s help, obviously having trouble starting the car but having too much pride to actually admit to it.)

Beverly swiftly moves the focus off Tony, asking Angela what colour her lipstick is. “a pinky red”, Ange replies.

Beverly suggests a slightly paler tone may have been better so as to blend in with her skin tone. Then continues to say: “Can I give you a tip? Just sit yourself down in front of a mirror and say..”

Cut to Angela who comes back with the response Beverly is waiting for, “ I’ve got very beautiful lips”, adamant that it will make a world of difference.

(Enter Sue, played by Sue Ferguson, who hands Beverly a gift on her way in.)

“oh it’s reja, lovely”, unable to pronounce its rightful name ‘rioja!’

 

Actress Alix Martin displays her character Ange’s nervousness well through a range of agitated movements, including a constant nodding of the head.

 

“eye, eye Sue, it’s started”, Beverly who refers to the stereo being turned on at Sue’s daughter’s party.

During the next sequences Beverly and Ange show themselves up to be the  strongest characters.

Beverly continues to take centre stage saying, “Any excuse for a mash-up, that’s what they call it these days”, assuming that the other 2 women are not at all up- to- date with today’s common terms.

The topic of Divorce is brought up when Ange says to Sue, “Oh it’s funny, we were all getting married around the time you were getting divorced.”  Ange always being the one to accidentally put her foot in it and thus, create an arkward silence.

“I blame a lot of it on feminism”, Beverly says, breaking it.

“To celebs, getting divorced is like going to the lavatory” (Beverly).

Beverly procedes to ask Tony: “do you think people should marry, Ton?”, Ange not allowing him the chance to answer saying: “ ..he’s not so sure since he got married to me!”

Divorce is swiftly moved on from to the topic of Pregnancy.  Beverly who has no inclination to have a baby of her own says, “having to go in to hospital would be like being ill.”  She becomes aroused when Tony appears to shout at his wife when she goes in to too much detail over one of her young patients who persisted in picking out their stitches!

(Laurence enters, stops in his tracks, and mutters “oh shit” as he remembers he has not bought the ciders his wife asked him to.  Beverly, who has rushed out after him, re-enters recounting what she has seen of Abigail’s, Sue’s daughter’s party.)

 

Ange becomes excited about having another drink, gets up from chair and begins to admire the décor.  Tony joins her in the kitchen and Beverly arrives shortly after.

 

Laurence comes back from off licence with the ciders.

 

“You’ve got a friend there for life there, Sue”, Beverly says to Sue after she shows an interest in having Laurence’s olives.

 

I would be interested to know whether the cigarettes the actors smoked during the performance were real or not.

 

(Beverly decides to get things moving by putting on Hero by Enrique

Iglesias, choosing to put on Ring My Bell afterwards.)

Laurence does not waste any time abruptly getting up from where he is sitting after Beverly has said, “anybody mind if I turn it up?”.  He is quite clearly embarrassed by his wife’s behaviour in sneaking up behind him and blowing in his ear.   He sees this as an ideal opportunity to go and look in on Abigail’s party, encouraging Tony to go along too.

 

Sue, who has barely eaten before coming round and can obviously not take her alcohol, hurriedly goes to the bathroom to vomit.  Ange, a nurse, looks in on her.

 

In Act II Sue comes back in to the room after vomiting, blatantly wanting to crawl in to a hole and die.

“Now Sue, this is just a slight perfume.. ..it’s J-Lo’s Glow.  Sue, don’t worry, It could happen to any of us” (Beverly).

Sue is made to feel more humiliated in turn by Beverly and Ange who speak about if she had been sick when the men were present.

 

 Beverly saying to Ange: “is he very violent?”, asking about Tony, almost getting turned on by the idea.

Ange replies, “..the other day he said he’d like to cellotape my mouth. And that isn’t very nice, is it?!  ..comes from getting married.  The fun wares off.”

(Laurence enters.  Tony has not come back with him.)

 

Laurence shouts at Beverly, “can’t you see you’re embarrassing Sue”, after her and Ange  fill Sue’s mind with images of 15-year olds jumping on Tony.

When Tony comes to the door, Beverly remarks, “your shirt’s all wet!”

 

As Laurence procedes to move around the circle showing off his Charles Dickens Collection, he closes the book in Tony’s face and comments to Sue: “don’t you think the class of people has altered?”, as in the neighbourhood.

Not the response he is expecting back, Sue says: “..it’s more mixed that’s all.”

(Beverly who has come back from the toilet argues with Laurence over turning the volume up on Elton John.)

“I thought he was The Queen of Pop!”, as opposed to The King.

(Sue goes to the toilet.)

Beverly comes up with the idea of putting all the chairs to one side and and having a boogie.  She is dancing with Tony when she says to Ange: “you’ll be quite safe with Laurence, he won’t rape you!”

Sue agrees to Laurence’s offer of a dance, while Beverly makes it her mission to dance with Tony again.

Ange simply jigs around in her chair.  Tony reluctantly sits down afterwards between his wife and Beverly.

 

Laurence attempts, yet again to impress Sue, this time by showing her his Van Gogh Collection.  He ends up having a heart attack, after letting the tension brew up inside of him throughout the evening.

Ange tends to him whilst Beverly, unable to cope with the situation, repeatedly shouts at him at the same time as pouring herself out a drink, as if it is all she is good for.

Tony and Sue complain about her flicking her ash over his helpless body.

Beverly insensitively says “.. he’s taken it on himself.”

She loses her patience, the first time in the evening, with Sue and tells her to “piss off!” and to stop the racket her daughter is making.

Sue rings up her daughter.  While this is going on Tony is supportive of his wife, assisting her as she carries out mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and after she has put him in to the recovery position, she complains of having a cramp in her leg!

The entire evening is made up of complete farce, reminiscent of Joe Orton.

 

Having watched just half of the original film, I am able to see how each of the four actors has thought carefully about how to depict their characters and have undoubtedly done so with great professionalism!

 

Goodmann Productions take their up to date version of Abigail’s Party, which I saw at Ecetera Theatre in Camden on Monday 14 September 2009, on Tour.  The first date to be confirmed is 9th October at Shrewsbury House in Surbiton.  However, further details regarding the Tour will be added to their website www.goodmannproductions.co.uk shortly.