Abigail's Party

Last updated

Abigail's Party
Abigail's Party.jpg
Abigail's Party UK DVD cover
Written by Mike Leigh
Characters
  • Beverley Moss
  • Laurence Moss
  • Tony Cooper
  • Angela Cooper
  • Susan Lawson
Date premieredApril 1977 (1977-04)
Place premiered Hampstead Theatre, London
Original languageEnglish

Abigail's Party is a play for stage and television, devised and directed in 1977 by Mike Leigh. It is a suburban situation comedy of manners, and a satire on the aspirations and tastes of the new middle class that emerged in Britain in the 1970s. The play developed in lengthy improvisations during which Mike Leigh explored the characters with the actors, but did not always reveal the incidents that would occur during the play. The production opened in April 1977 at the Hampstead Theatre, and returned after its initial run in the summer of 1977, for 104 performances in all. A recording was arranged at the BBC as a Play for Today , produced by Margaret Matheson for BBC Scotland and transmitted in November 1977.

Contents

Performances

The stage play was first performed at the Hampstead Theatre on 18 April 1977, enjoying great success, leading to a revival over the summer of that year, which was another sellout. [1]

The television version was abridged from over two hours to 104 minutes; the record played by Beverley in the original stage production was "Light My Fire" by José Feliciano and in the TV production it was the 1976 hit "Forever and Ever" by Demis Roussos – Leigh had to replace nearly all the music with artists recorded on British labels, for copyright reasons, in case the BBC sold the play to the United States. As José Feliciano became Demis Roussos, so Elvis Presley gave way to Tom Jones. Other music used in the BBC production included "Love to Love You Baby" by Donna Summer (sung here by Clare Torry [2] ) and a piece of library music by Robert Farnon entitled "Blue Theme".

The BBC version was a film of a play, rather than a film in its own right, about which Leigh commented:

The first thing I’d say is, this is not a film. And not only that: for a film-maker, it’s a work of deep embarrassment and pain. There is no piece of work for which I have been responsible as director by which I’m embarrassed, apart from Abigail’s Party. Not for the play or its content [...] It is a stage play that was wheeled into a television studio. It’s slightly compromised as a play, but not too seriously. However, as a piece of craft, it’s simply appalling. [3]

Original cast

The original production starred Alison Steadman as Beverley, and Tim Stern as her husband Laurence. They are holding a drinks party for their new neighbours, Angela (Janine Duvitski) and her husband Tony (John Salthouse). They also invite Susan (Thelma Whiteley), another neighbour. Abigail herself is never seen—she is Susan's 15-year-old daughter, who is holding her first teenager party next door. For the television version, the original cast reprised their roles, with the exception of Thelma Whiteley, who was replaced by Harriet Reynolds.

Each of the original cast largely devised the back story to their character. John Salthouse brought his early career as a footballer with Crystal Palace to that of Tony. According to Leigh, discussions at the improvised sessions included whether Beverley's name should have a third "e" or not. The most complex relationship was worked out between Angela and Tony. Little of this is disclosed during the narrative, although something of it becomes apparent when Angela steps in to care first for Sue, then the stricken Laurence, and the centre of power between the couple starts to shift noticeably.

Characters

Beverley Moss
An ex-department store cosmetics demonstrator, "a quondam beautician", she has failed her driving test three times. During the play, she flirts with Tony and is always trying to impress her guests. She considers her taste in music (Jose Feliciano/Demis Roussos, Tom Jones) and art (kitsch erotica) to be every bit as good as that of her husband. Immensely proud of her home, she nonetheless admits that she cannot use the gadgets in her kitchen. Throughout the evening, Beverley offers her guests drinks and cigarettes (despite the fact that Tony and Angela have recently given up), which they usually refuse but end up taking due to her being unable to take no for an answer. Beverley effectively forces her guests to agree with her on most topics, for instance on the music they should listen to, or whether olives should be served, in each instance using their apparent consensus to score points with her husband. Despite her "sophisticated" tastes and carefully groomed appearance, she was described by Alan Bennett as having "shoulders like a lifeguard, and a walk to match." According to the critic Michael Coveney, "Beverley is undoubtedly a monster. But she is also a deeply sad and vulnerable monster… The whole point about Beverley is that she is childless, and there is a sense in which that grotesque exterior carapace is a mask of inner desolation." [4]
Interviewed in 2012, Steadman said of the play, "Overnight, that piece was incredibly powerful. ... They were very strong, identifiable characters. We laugh at them because we say, 'Oh my God, I know that person, thank goodness I'm not like that', and you cringe, but you know they're true. We can safely sit in the comfort of our living rooms or theatre seats and laugh our heads off. But we've perhaps all got a bit of Beverley in us." [5] In a 2017 piece written for The Guardian , Leigh described Beverley as "an aspirational working class girl who is totally preoccupied with appearances and received notions of behaviour and taste. A bundle of contradictions, she espouses the idea of people freely enjoying themselves, yet endlessly bullies everybody into doing what she wrongly thinks they'll enjoy, or what is good for them. But, while she may be perceived as monstrous, she is in fact vulnerable, insecure and sad". [1]
Laurence Moss
Estate agent with "Wibley Webb". Laurence is Beverley's husband, and the pair frequently argue. He aspires to the finer things in life: leather-bound Shakespeare (which he thinks "can't be read"), prints of Van Gogh and Lowry paintings, and Beethoven, which he forces on his guests at unfortunate moments. He seems powerless to compete with Beverley's more flamboyant persona, and compensates by working too much, as his wife points out on several occasions. He considers a brisk handshake to be correct etiquette after a dance. While Laurence starts off behaving normally during the party, as he becomes increasingly hen-pecked by his wife, he begins to act in a more neurotic manner, to the point where he too becomes an annoyance to his guests. Unlike Sue, Laurence does not embrace the increasing "cosmopolitanism" of the area, .
Tony Cooper
Tony works in computing—merely as a computer operator, his wife twice points out—and used to play professional football for Crystal Palace but it "didn't work out". Tony is quiet throughout most of the play, appearing tense, uneasy and only able to give one-word answers. As the scene progresses, he becomes increasingly irate and fierce-tempered, particularly with his wife Angela. Beverley flirts with him, much to Laurence's suppressed annoyance, and at one point, Beverley asks Angela if he is violent. "No, he's not violent. Just a bit nasty. Like, the other day, he said to me, he'd like to sellotape my mouth. And that's not very nice, is it?". Leigh later attributed Tony's aggression to an underlying shyness and self-consciousness. [1] The surname Cooper was not mentioned in the original script or teleplay, and is taken from a picture on the Mike Leigh at the BBC DVD box set.
Angela Cooper
Tony's wife. A nurse, Angela appears meek and somewhat childlike, dim, and cheerfully tactless. She and Tony have just bought their house and are struggling with the necessary frugality. She cannot drive: Tony does not wish her to do so, possibly to curtail any ideas of independence even though he seems to find her a constant irritant. Angela displays an unexpectedly practical and decisive side when Sue feels queasy and later after Laurence collapses. Mike Leigh has noted that "underneath Angela's apparent silliness is the tough, practical reliability of an experienced working nurse". [1]
Susan Lawson
Sue is middle-aged and her 15-year-old daughter Abigail is holding the eponymous party. A long-standing resident she was (as pointed out by Angela) divorced at the same time the other characters were married. A quiet and conventional middle-aged woman, of "middle middle-class" rectitude, she wears a blouse and skirt compared to Bev and Angie's 'dressing up', thinking her invitation was for an informal neighbourly supper. Without the courage to break stifling social norms by refusing her hosts she tries to assauge her hunger on peanuts whilst Beverley's "little top-ups" of gin make her ill. As the evening progresses, Laurence repeatedly attempts to find common ground with her by mouthing common platitudes of what he supposes to be cultural refinement but when Beverley insists she dance with Laurence this only compounds their mutual awkwardness as she towers over him by at least 8 inches.

Plot

The terrain is "the London side of Essex", "theoretical Romford" according to Leigh. [6] Beverley Moss invites her new neighbours, Angela and Tony, who moved into the road just two weeks ago, over for drinks. She has also invited her neighbour Susan (Sue), divorced for three years, whose fifteen-year-old daughter Abigail is holding a party at home. Beverley's husband Laurence comes home late from work, just before the guests arrive. The gathering starts off in a stiff fashion as the virtual strangers tentatively gather, until Beverley and Laurence start sniping at each other. As Beverley serves more drinks and the alcohol takes effect, Beverley flirts more and more overtly with Tony, as Laurence sits impotently by. After a tirade when Beverley insists on showing off her kitsch print Wings of Love , Laurence suffers a fatal heart attack.

Class

Beverley, Tony and, to a lesser extent Angela, all speak with an accent centred on Essex or Estuary English. Laurence's accent, more non-descript and less regional, makes him sound slightly more educated, while Sue's is much nearer to Received Pronunciation.

Sue represents the middle class, being the ex-wife of an architect and living in one of the older houses on the street. She also brings a bottle of wine, and has not yet eaten, indicating that she is expecting dinner, as opposed to an extended evening of drinks. The others present have already had their "tea". Beverley and Laurence represent the aspirational lower middle class, and Tony and Angela—the "new arrivals"—are also lower middle class, but Tony is less successful than Laurence.

Despite their similar background, Laurence seeks to differentiate between himself and Tony by highlighting the differences in their general level of culture, and makes a couple of condescending comments directed at him, and/or for Sue's benefit. For example, Laurence shows off a leather-bound collected works of Shakespeare to Sue (which we know are unread), after pointedly asking Tony if he reads, insinuating that he does not.

Critical response

In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, Abigail's Party was placed 11th. It also appeared in a Radio Times poll to find the top 40 greatest TV shows on British television, published in August 2003.

Some critics, such as Tom Paulin, have responded more negatively, saying that Abigail's Party appears to represent a middle-class schadenfreude , with the only true middle-class character, Sue, looking on at the antics of the couples with disdain. [7] Likewise, Dennis Potter wrote a critical review of the play in The Sunday Times , saying it was "based on nothing more edifying than rancid disdain, for it is a prolonged jeer, twitching with genuine hatred, about the dreadful suburban tastes of the dreadful lower middle classes". Leigh has rejected this, describing it as a tragi-comedy which is "sympathetic to all the characters, whatever their foibles, not least Beverley... The play is a lamentation, not a sneer". [1] He has also argued that the characters (Beverley and Laurence in particular) reflected the real-life behaviour of aspiring couples in mid-1970s suburbia.

Writing in The Independent in 2002, David Thomson noted that Beverley's gauche storing of the beaujolais in the refrigerator had become standard practice; "the gaffe has turned suave." [8]

Revival

The TV version was released on VHS in 1984 and DVD in 2003.

The play was staged in London's West End in 2003 with Elizabeth Berrington as Beverley. It was revived in Wolverhampton at the Grand Theatre (2005), and at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter (2006).

Interviewed in 2009, writer Leigh said: "Of course I recognise the enduring popularity of Abigail's Party. It still hits a nerve about the way we live. It's real even though it's apparently a heightened and comic play. It's a reflection of the realities of how we live on several different levels. It's about aspirationalism and materialism, love and relationships. Like much of my work, it's about the disease I call 'the done thing'—basically, keeping up with the Joneses. It's actually quite a complex play. People may not analyse its complexity but it's so popular precisely for that reason." [9]

In March 2012, a new revival of the play directed by Lindsay Posner opened at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London. Starring Jill Halfpenny as Beverley, Joe Absolom as Tony, Natalie Casey as Angela, Susannah Harker as Sue and Andy Nyman as Laurence, it subsequently transferred to Wyndham's Theatre in the West End. Commenting on the character, Halfpenny said, "To her mind Beverley isn't a monster and even warrants sympathy. "When you learn about her upbringing—her mother and father haven't spoken to her for 20 years—you see why a woman who's been brought up like that and carries so many insecurities could take them out on others." [10]

In May 2013, Abigail's Party played at San Francisco Playhouse and received outstanding reviews. [11]

In March 2017, a new revival of Abigail's Party opened at the Theatre Royal Bath as a 40th anniversary production, starring Amanda Abbington as Beverley, Ciarán Owens as Tony, Charlotte Mills as Angela, Rose Keegan as Sue, and Ben Caplan as Laurence.

In November 2021, a further revival of Abigail's Party opened at the Park Theatre Finsbury Park, starring Kellie Shirlie as Beverley, Matt Di Angelo as Tony and Ryan Early as Laurence.

Another UK tour took place in 2023 under the direction of Michael Cabot, starring Rebecca Birch, Jo Castleton, Alice De-Warrenne, George Readshaw and Tom Richardson. [12]

From September 6th to October 12th 2024 Nadia Fall directed a London revival at Stratford East featuring TV stars Tamsin Outhwaite and Kevin Bishop alongside Ashna Rabheru, Omar Malik, and Pandora Colin. [13]

Use in other media

In 1985 the pop band ABC sampled dialogue from the play, by Beverley, on the 12" remix of their single "Vanity Kills". [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela Lansbury</span> British and American actress (1925–2022)

Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury was a British and American actress. In a career spanning 80 years, she played various roles across film, stage, and television. Although based for much of her life in the United States, her work attracted international attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Leigh</span> English writer and director (born 1943)

Mike Leigh is an English writer-director with a career spanning film, theatre and television. He has received numerous accolades, including prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, the Venice International Film Festival, three BAFTA Awards, and nominations for seven Academy Awards. He also received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2014, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1993 Birthday Honours for services to the film industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauline Collins</span> British actress (born 1940)

Pauline Collins is a British actress who first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–1973) and its spin-off Thomas & Sarah (1979). In 1992, she published her autobiography Letter to Louise.

Jill Halfpenny is an English actress who first garnered attention playing Nicola Dobson in the coming-of-age BBC drama series Byker Grove (1989–1992). She became more widely known for her roles as Rebecca Hopkins on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (1999–2000), Kate Mitchell on the BBC soap opera EastEnders (2002–2005), and Izzie Redpath in Waterloo Road (2006–2007). Her other notable credits include Babylon (2014), In the Club (2014–2016), Humans (2015), Three Girls (2017), Liar (2017–2020), Dark Money (2019), The Drowning (2021), and The Long Shadow (2023). She won the second series of the television dance contest Strictly Come Dancing in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milo O'Shea</span> Irish-American actor (1926–2013)

Milo Donal O'Shea was an Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in Staircase (1968) and Mass Appeal (1982).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dora Bryan</span> English actress (1923–2014)

Dora May Broadbent,, known as Dora Bryan, was a British actress of stage, film and television.

<i>Life Is Sweet</i> (film) 1990 British film

Life Is Sweet is a 1990 British comedy-drama film directed by Mike Leigh, starring Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Claire Skinner, Jane Horrocks and Timothy Spall. Leigh's third cinematic film, it was his most commercially successful title at the time of release. A tragi-comic story, it follows the fortunes of a working-class North London family over a few weeks one summer.

Nuts in May (<i>Play for Today</i>) 12th episode of the 6th series of Play for Today

"Nuts in May" is the 12th episode of sixth season of the British BBC anthology TV series Play for Today. The episode was a television play that was originally broadcast on 13 January 1976. "Nuts in May" was written and directed by Mike Leigh, produced by David Rose, and starred Roger Sloman and Alison Steadman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Kelly</span> British actor (1943–2014)

Roger Michael Kelly, known by the stage name Sam Kelly, was an English actor who appeared in film, television, radio and theatre. He is best known for his roles as Captain Hans Geering in 'Allo 'Allo!, Warren in Porridge, Sam in On the Up, and Ted Liversidge in Barbara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Steadman</span> British actress (born 1946)

Alison Steadman is an English actress. She received the 1977 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for Abigail's Party, the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film Life Is Sweet and the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as Mari in the original production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. In a 2007 Channel 4 poll, the '50 Greatest Actors' voted for by other actors, she was ranked 42.

Janine Duvitski is a British actress, known for her roles in the BBC television sitcom series Waiting for God, One Foot in the Grave and Benidorm. Duvitski first came to national attention in the play Abigail's Party, written and directed in 1977 by Mike Leigh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicky Henson</span> British actor (1945–2019)

Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson was a British actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edna Doré</span> British actress

Edna Lillian Doré was a British actress. She was known for her bit-part roles in sitcoms and for playing the character of Mo Butcher in EastEnders from 1988 to 1990.

<i>Ecstasy</i> (play) 1979 play by Mike Leigh

Ecstasy is a 1979 play by British playwright Mike Leigh with a six-character cast. It covers the life of four blue-collar friends living in a ratty area of London near Kilburn High Road and the drunken frustration in their lives, particularly that of the lead character Jean.

Barbara Leigh-Hunt is an English retired actress. Her numerous theatre credits include Broadway productions of Hamlet (1958) and Sherlock Holmes Justice (1973) (1974), and she won the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for the National Theatre production of An Inspector Calls. Her film appearances include Frenzy (1972), Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), Bequest to the Nation (1973), and Billy Elliot (2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Head</span> British actress

Emily Head is an English actress. Her breakout role was as Carli D'Amato in E4's sitcom The Inbetweeners and she later played Rebecca White in ITV soap opera Emmerdale and Colette Andrews in BBC drama, The Syndicate.

<i>Bleak Moments</i> 1971 British film by Mike Leigh

Bleak Moments is a 1971 British comedy-drama film by Mike Leigh in his directorial debut. Leigh's screenplay is based on a 1970 stage play at the Open Space Theatre, about the dysfunctional life of a young secretary.

Hard Labour (<i>Play for Today</i>) 20th episode of the 3rd series of Play for Today

"Hard Labour" is the 20th episode of third season of the British BBC anthology TV series Play for Today. The episode was a television play that was originally broadcast on 12 March 1973. "Hard Labour" was written and directed by Mike Leigh, produced by Tony Garnett, and starred Liz Smith in her first major role.

Too Much of a Good Thing is a radio play, recorded entirely on location, as if it were a film, by Mike Leigh. Liane Aukin, the 'midwife' of the project, a BBC radio producer, knew Leigh through her brother David, the general manager at Hampstead Theatre. She had initially asked Leigh to revive Abigail's Party on the radio, but he preferred to supply an original piece. Ronald Mason, the head of radio drama, was enthusiastic and allocated £5000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nana's Party</span> 5th episode of the 2nd series of Inside No. 9

"Nana's Party" is the fifth episode of the second series of the British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. It was first broadcast on 23 April 2015 on BBC Two. Written and directed by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the episode starred Claire Skinner as the obsessive-compulsive and aspirational Angela, who is hosting a party for the 79th birthday of her mother Maggie, played by Elsie Kelly. Angela's husband Jim, played by Pemberton, is keen to play a prank on Pat, Angela's brother-in-law, who is a practical joker. Pat is played by Shearsmith, while Carol, a recovering alcoholic who is Pat's wife and Angela's sister, is played by Lorraine Ashbourne. The episode also features Eve Gordon as Katie, Angela and Jim's teenage daughter, and Christopher Whitlow as a paramedic seen at the beginning and end of the episode.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Leigh, Mike (24 February 2017). "Mike Leigh on Abigail's Party at 40: 'I was sure it would sink without trace'". theguardian.com . Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  2. "Play for Today (TV Series) | Abigail's Party (1977) | Trivia", IMDb
  3. Leigh, Mike; Raphael, Amy (2008). Mike Leigh on Mike Leigh. London: Faber and Faber. p. 110. ISBN   9780571204694.
  4. Coveney, pp. 119–120
  5. "Alison Steadman: We've all got a bit of Beverley in us". The Daily Telegraph . 8 April 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  6. Coveney, p.116
  7. "Programmes | Newsnight | Review | Abigail's Party". BBC News. 25 July 2002. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  8. Thomson, David (21 July 2002). "Mike Leigh: Cruel chronicler of suburbia's nasty secrets and lies" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  9. Imogen Carter (26 September 2009). "Abigail's Party, our free DVD, remains a landmark in TV drama". The Guardian . Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  10. "Jill Halfpenny: the life and soul of Abigail's Party". Telegraph.co.uk. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  11. Hurwitt, Robert (27 May 2013). "SF Gate Abigail's Party". Sfgate. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  12. "London Classic Theatre Announce Cast for UK Tour of Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party". 12 September 2024.
  13. "Abigail's Party". 12 September 2024.
  14. poraz, Nadav. "Vanity Kills (The Abigails Party Mix) by ABC – Samples, Covers and Remixes". whosampled.com. Retrieved 5 February 2024.

Bibliography