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Steve Dineen, Paula Jennings, Helen
Johns, Benjamin Warren and Pauline Whitaker. |
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Perth Theatre, Clwyd Theatr
Cymru, Oldham Coliseum, Theatre Royal Winchester, Buxton Opera
House and Greenwich Theatre. |
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"It's a measure of the sheer brilliance of Mike Leigh's famous
devised drama Abigail's Party that even 30 years on from its
first performance, it still seems like a harsh and timely
indictment of the underlying brutalism of affluent British
society; so much so that, last weekend, BBC2 attempted a
contemporary update of Leigh's party-from-hell idea, featuring
the magnificent star of the original Abigail's Party, Alison
Steadman.
Michael Cabot's new 30th anniversary production for London
Classic Theatre, opening its UK-wide tour in Perth this month,
misses nothing in Leigh's terrifying expose of the looming clash
in British society between those who want to preserve and
cherish some of the traditions, wisdoms and decencies of the
past, and the increasingly empowered new barbarians, led by our
hostess-from-hell heroine Beverly, for whom art, politics and
morals are all "a load of rubbish", and nothing much matters
except money and the stuff it buys, along with getting pissed,
grabbing at cheap sexual thrills, and "havin' a laugh".
Cabot's production burns slowly in the opening scenes, with
Paula Jennings's elegant-looking Beverly taking a while to
reveal the savage within, and the company never quite gets to
grips with the evolving rhythm and pace of Leigh's drama, so
that both the interval and the end seem to come in arbitrary,
unexpected places, rather than achieving their full climactic
power.
The acting, though, has a real depth and integrity that
eventually pays rich dividends, with Pauline Whitaker in
painfully fine form as the gently-spoken middle-class neighbour
Sue, Benjamin Warren and Helen Johns acting up a slowly-brewing
storm as the ill-matched young couple next door, and Jennings
finally revealing the full, lethal depths of Beverly's boredom
and desperation, sexual and otherwise.
And, in the end, this fine production provokes dark thoughts
about the sheer inevitability of the long-term failure of the
left in Britain, caught as it was in 1977, and still is, between
an old civilisation too tainted with injustice to be defensible,
and a new, cash-driven barbarism that only a fool could mistake
for democracy, or for any worthwhile form of human freedom..."
"This blisteringly funny and painstakingly accurate comedy of
modern manners and suburban pretension, by playwright Mike
Leigh, was first performed on stage and screen in 1977. It has
therefore become a period piece, thus providing yet another
level on which it can be enjoyed.
London Classic Theatre's splendidly focused production, directed
by Michael Cabot and featuring a five-strong cast, visited
Taliesin for one night only as part of an extensive UK tour.
It attracted a capacity audience - no surprise, given the fact
that this is such a popular and fondly-remembered piece.
Paula Jennings was an absolute hoot as party hostess Beverly -
no mean feat when one considers how strongly the role is
associated with Alison Steadman. Helen Johns's performance as
the gormless Angela also struck a particularly strong chord with
the crowd as the story progressed.
Steve Dineen, as Bev's go-ahead husband Laurence, and Benjamin
Warren, as Angela's droll and monosyllabic hubby Tony, fleshed
out their respective characters very smartly, as did Pauline
Whitaker as the straightlaced neighbour Susan.
As is so often the case with Leigh's work, in spite of the
apparently lightweight and reassuringly domestic setting there
were darker undercurrents which bubbled to the surface as the
piece drew to its conclusion, and this was conveyed in an
admirably effective way.
Visually and verbally, the evocation of the 1970s was spot on.
This was a highly enjoyable and satisfying piece of theatre
which worked on every level."
"No parties for Abigail for decades - then three, or is it
four - come along in the space of six or seven years. But no-one
is complaining because the party in question is Mike Leigh’s,
now 30-years-old and showing it only in the 1970s decorations.
This seminal work of modern theatre, precursor to the comedy of
embarrassment that is so prevalent on TV these days, is a
masterpiece of content over form and dialogue over action -
mainly because there is hardly any action.
London Classic Theatre’s production has been going down a storm
around the country in a tour that started modestly but has since
grown to more than six months due to demand. And you can see
why. The beautifully-chosen cast of five are note-perfect
throughout. Steve Dineen, as homeowner and inept host, builds
the husband’s frustration throughout the evening until his anger
is ready to pop.
His monstrous wife, Beverly, is brought to life wonderfully by
Paula Jennings in a flowing, grey velveteen ensemble, which she
whisks among the guests while refilling drinks and being
patronising in the name of neighbourliness.
Her opposite number, Angela, is even more inane as performed by
Helen Johns. I wouldn’t want her unhappy nurse character
anywhere near me if I was in hospital. Likewise, Benjamin Warren
as Angela’s husband Tony is a brute in sheep’s clothing,
contemptuous of his wife’s gaucheness and idle, embarrassing
chatter.
Finally, there is Sue, the middle-class neighbour who is
definitely stretching down the social scale by accepting Bev and
Laurence’s invitation to avoid the peril of her own daughter’s
teenage party. Sue is brought to stoic, polite life by Pauline
Whitaker in a performance that suggests playing the Queen one
day wouldn’t be out of the question.
But the star of the show is the show itself, with Geraldine
Bunzl’s 70s-at-home set (fibre-optic lamp, wood and leather
sofa, pineapple and cheese on sticks and wildly geometric wall
tiles a few of the attractions). Mike Leigh’s comedy stands up
as an excruciatingly funny evening, when we laugh with
recognition that most of us have been there, done that and
mopped up some of the vomit with the T-shirt."
"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 clichés. 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."
"Originally staged in 1977 and made famous nationally through
the BBC’s Play for Today series, Abigail’s Party is nothing if
not a reflection of its times. But while the gaudy fashions and
furniture celebrated during the decade that taste frequently
forgot are authentically recreated in London Classic Theatre’s
production of the Mike Leigh play, it’s the sense of creeping
cynicism among characters on the cusp of the Thatcherite era
that gives the work its redolence today.
London-centric Leigh’s piece is regarded as something of a
modern classic with a scathing, but humorous, critique of the
nature and pretensions of the British middle class at its core.
A memorable seventies’ TV version featured a career-defining
performance from Alison Steadman as the vampish Beverley, and
remains the benchmark by which any actress taking on the role is
measured. Here, Paula Jennings injects glamour and bile in equal
measure into her prickly performance to come across as a kind of
Lady Macbeth of Hampstead, haunted by her own soulless
existence.
Proving a worthy successor to her acclaimed forebear, Jennings’
protagonist picks on the carrion of her neurotic husband
Laurence, played by Steve Dineen. As a neighbour’s daughter
holds her own night of merriment further along the street,
Beverley subjects her house guests - the naive Angela (Helen
Johns), her husband Tony (Benjamin Warren) and divorcee Susan
(Pauline Whitaker) - to a gin and tonic soaked roller-coaster
ride with musical accompaniment from Elvis and Jose Feliciano.
Forcing the group to face up to the cultural straitjacket
imposed by their sterile suburban surrounds, Beverly’s conniving
leads to tragic, if inevitable consequences, handled with a firm
but sensitive touch by director Michael Cabot. Hosting the
première of a new, 30th anniversary version of arguably the most
famous work of one of the UK’s most respected writers is
undoubtedly a major coup for Perth Theatre."
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