Review: Abigail’s Party at Northern Stage
Review: Abigail’s Party at Northern Stage
When the BBC picked up Mike Leigh’s hit stage production for its Play for Today in 1977, it cemented Abigail’s Party becoming a play for many decades.
Millions of viewers tuned in to witness an excruciating evening of entertaining in seventies suburbia and the play’s enduring popularity has seen it staged in countless theatrical productions in the near-half a century since it premiered.
Indeed you could sense the warmth for the piece in the audience at Northern Stage where Jack Bradfield’s production has opened ahead of a four-stop UK tour.
Press night doubled as a royal performance with the Duke of Edinburgh taking his seat in the audience following a reception for The Royal Theatrical Support Trust, which has supported the production (a co-pro between Northern Stage, Rose Theatre, Colchester Mercury Theatre and ETT) - and of which he is President.
For anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure, let’s set the scene.
Beverly, wife of uptight estate agent, aspiring art enthusiast and olive lover, Laurence (and a woman whose kitchen boasts a decorative rotisserie) is all dressed up and ready to host a cocktail party for a few of her neighbours.
With only cheese and pineapple hedgehogs to soak up the well-stocked drinks cabinet, Beverly (Laura Rogers) is determined to get everyone in the mood for a good time… as long it’s on her terms, and to her soundtrack.
New street arrivals Angela (Chaya Gupta) and Tony (North East cast member, Joe Blakemore), who have just bought their first home are joined on the leather sofa Angela covets by divorcee Sue (Amy Rockson) who was offered a haven from her punk daughter Abigail’s house party next door… and one can safely assume was not allowed to say ‘no’.
From the moment Leander Deeny’s twitchy Laurence arrives home without the lager he forgot, with no time to get changed and with a late night work errand and early start on his to-do list, the tension is baked in and only increases in temperature.
Just ask Laurence’s arteries.
While both Beverly and Angela have been married for three years, (they were getting married while Sue was getting divorced, they pointedly point out during the course of the evening) Beverly very much sees herself as the trailblazer when it comes to the monotony of matrimony.
Despite Tony’s mostly monosyllabic interactions with the group - when he’s not slow dancing with Beverly or disappearing next door to make sure everything is going off ok with the teenagers - the bitter tone he reserves for his wide-eyed and chatty wife speaks volumes.
Rogers’ Welsh portrayal of hostess who needs to be seen to have the mostest, softens Beverly, making her insecurities and vulnerabilities more obvious than Alison Steadman’s less sympathetic and more monstrous original take on the character from late seventies Essex.
Rockson puts in a lovely turn as beleaguered Sue, who I reckon would rather be sitting in the rain on a park bench with her ex-husband’s new wife than being plied with drink - ‘little top up’ by ‘little top up’ - in Beverly’s lounge.
Meanwhile when Beamish do the seventies, they could do a lot worse than start with Laurence and Beverly’s semi.
Anna Yates’ set is beautifully soaked in the decade’s home furnishing trappings from the sprawling white shagpile upwards.
Laid out like a soulless showroom - much like Beverly and Laurence’s marriage - it still manages to foster the tinderbox atmosphere as the increasingly uncomfortable evening progresses.
From the aforementioned leather sofa (complete with zebra skin throw) and the candelabra-adorned dining table to the elaborately pink toilet cover, the meticulously fitted kitchen and the well-stocked sideboard bar, the attention to detail is terrific… there’s even a spot for Laurence’s latest Mini.
Having only sort-of seen the original TV adaptation in my 20s, I wasn’t able to join in with the ripples of knowing laughter from those around me in the crowd, and I wonder how heavily the material leans on this familiarity and affection after nearly five decades.
As a satirical look at the social and material aspirations of the decade’s emerging middle classes Abigail’s Party was ahead of its time in many ways and touches on themes that still resonate.
But as a standalone piece of entertainment in a world where awkward social interactions are almost a genre in themselves and shows like The Office and Peep Show have made cringing a national pastime, I’m not sure Leigh’s play still cuts through like it did.
Abigiail’s Party plays Northern Stage until September 28. For tickets, visit the website or call the box office on 0191 230 5151.