Edward Alderton Theatre

Abigail's Party
by Mike Leigh

Directed by Mark Campbell

12-19 July 2008 (7 performances)

BEST FEMALE ACTOR - CERTIFICATE OF MERIT: SARAH HILLS

BETTY BAILY AWARD FOR SET DESIGN

Hideous suburbanites Beverly and Laurence are entertaining their new neighbours Tony Angela, along with Susan, who grows ever more anxious as to what is happening at her unseen daughter's riotous party...

Cast
Beverly	Sarah Hills
Laurence	Ian Long
Tony	Matt Clowry
Angela	Samantha Griggs
Susan	Linda Gay

Crew
Stage Manager	Liz Gillett
Assistant Stage Manager	Yvonne Golding
Set Design	Mark Campbell
Set Construction	John Vinnels, Ron Andrews
Set Painting and Decoration	Mark Campbell, Nicola Clark
Costumes	Liz Gillett, Sarah Hills
Properties	Liz Gillett, Sarah Hills, Ian Long, Mark Campbell
Lighting Design and Rigging	Jerry McKeon, Christine McKeon
Lighting Operation	Nicola Clark
Sound Design	Ian Long
Sound Operation	Nicola Clark

With thanks to Erith Playhouse for the hire of the furniture

Review

Partying with Abigail in '70s style

A popular return of Mike Leigh's classic 1977 drama Abigail’s Party made a welcome return to the Edward Alderton Theatre, writes Steve Spencer.

Mark Campbell’s new production centres on an awkward social gathering at the north London home of Beverly and Laurence with neighbours, Angela, husband Tony and Susan (whose daughter, Abigail, is throwing her own party - hence the name of the play). As the evening unfolds we witness banal and excruciating exchanges, leading to nasty, vicious snipes between the five over their conflicting values, beliefs and aspirations. The inevitable tragi-comic climax is almost absurd: Laurence has a heart attack, Angela hops around with cramp in her leg and Susan desperately tries to telephone Abigail whilst a scratchy Beethoven symphony plays away.

The well-designed (and accurately furnished) set of Beverly and Laurence’s sitting room successfully illustrated their pretentious position on the social ladder. There were enough distractions here if you couldn’t face watching Beverly’s graceless behaviour and Angela’s acquiescence to each and every word her hostess uttered! The costumes were well chosen and complemented the mood of the evening and special mention has to be made to the team who created and managed the sound perfectly.

Sarah Hills sashayed around the stage dominating the social gathering but played a rather understated Beverly and I would have relished a more grotesque and exaggerated portrayal which might have left me cringing with embarrassment. Nevertheless, she was well matched by Ian Long playing her husband Laurence, whose brooding impatience and seething tension were palpable. Making her debut with the company, Samantha Griggs provided a suitably gauche and socially inept Angela. Matt Clowry was again well-cast as Tony, Angela’s solid husband whose angry (and violent) frustration at his wife’s lack of social skills was just about kept in check. Linda Gay played a suitably aloof middle-class Susan, the neighbour who is out of place with this quartet of social misfits.

Well done to cast and crew on an enjoyable evening which has been a welcome reminder why cheese and pineapple cubes, olives and Jose Feliciano have been relegated to the great party in the sky!

Steve Spencer

Kentish Times | 24 July 2008

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