★★★★

“the golden Outhwaite’s masterclass in subtle bitchery is unforgettable”

Mike Leigh’s 1977 biting social satire about a suburban drinks party which becomes horribly dark is a hugely popular modern classic, as witnessed by the man in the seat next to me reciting the play along with the cast. Apart from Leigh’s brilliant writing, another major reason for the popularity of Abigail’s Party was the iconic performance of Alison Steadman as Beverley, the party’s monstrous hostess, in the original production adapted for the BBC.

However, in Nadia Fall’s production, a mesmerising Tamzin Outhwaite makes Beverley her own. From the moment the curtain rises to Donna Summer’s Love to Love You Baby revealing Outhwaite on top of a glass-topped coffee table, dressed in a glittering, golden yellow kaftan and blue platform heels and strutting her stuff underneath disco lights, it’s clear that this is one hot hostess who is not afraid to use her sexual allure to manipulate.

Beverley is hosting drinks and nibbles for her new neighbours, gauche young nurse Angela (Ashna Rabheru) and her monosyllabic computer operator husband Tony (Omar Malik), plus stoic and sensible divorced Sue (Pandora Colin), whose daughter Abigail is having a teenage party at their home. Lawrence (Kevin Bishop), Beverley’s husband, pops in and out, being more devoted to his estate agent job at Wibley Webb than to his marriage. Given Beverley’s sneering, dismissive attitude towards him, you can’t blame him.

The initial party small-talk is excruciatingly embarrassing but hilarious; one new big laugh in the current production certainly wouldn’t have raised a smile in 1977 – Angela’s comment that they bought their house for £21,000. Beverley, naturally, is very keen to point out that it’s much smaller than her own abode, but this is far from where the sneering stops.

Beverley dishes out cigarettes from an onyx box, and drink after drink from a well-stocked cocktail cabinet, to her guests with almost the same gusto as she dishes out her barbed comments. She tells Angela that she’s wearing the wrong shade of lipstick; comments on Sue’s marital status, and constantly snipes at Lawrence. And as if that alone doesn’t make her soiree embarrassing, she is keen to impose her musical tastes on her guests – Demis Roussos and Elvis Presley.

It’s clear that Beverley has the hots for handsome ex-footballer Tony, and the drunker she gets, the more she pouts and flirts with him. Lawrence is clearly weary of this behaviour, and indeed anything she does, and Kevin Bishop portrays his pent-up rage perfectly, with subtle facial tics and a tension in his body that means he could go off at any moment. Abigail’s Party is certainly a comedy, but one which contains an incredible amount of tension which makes the audience gasp.

Peter McKintosh’s groovy set, with flowery graphic wallpaper, leather sofa and massive console unit containing the cocktail cabinet, record player and a fibre lamp which mesmerises Beverley, perfectly sums up the era’s taste. My one quibble was that the kitchen units were more noughties than Seventies, shiny and white with silver handles; they should have been as uniformly brown as the rest of the set.

The kitchen was the only wrong note in this excellent production, however. The ensemble are terrific, and the golden Outhwaite’s masterclass in subtle bitchery is unforgettable.

THE REAL THING at the Old Vic

★★★★

“Stoppard at his finest”

The Old Vic stages a new production of Tom Stoppard’s discursive but entertaining play from 1982. It’s become a norm to criticise the work of Stoppard for lacking heart, being too clever, and too wordy, so it’s amusing to hear the author condemned by one of his own characters. “Having all the words is not what life’s all about”, says Max as he argues with the playwright Henry. And there’s much to carp about: the lack of character development, the snobbery, the itty bitty supporting roles. Charlotte argues that Henry creates a female character that is only good for the pouring of drinks, whilst Stoppard comes close to making Charlotte just that.

The central topic is the title of the play and to make this clear it is spelt out in neon pink lighting across the centre of the stage at the start and end of the show. As a series of relationships play out we assess if any of the affairs, married or otherwise, are ‘the real thing’. Henry pontificates at length about the subject whilst his daughter Debbie reduces the discussion to something snappy that could be written on a t-shirt. Max clings at the legs of Annie when he discovers she is leaving. Henry cries in the dark when he hears of Annie’s affair with Billy. Charlotte admits nine secret liaisons whilst married to Henry. It appears that Stoppard is telling us that there is no real relationship without infidelity.

And what is real? In the first scene we believe we are witnessing something only to find it is a scene from a play. (No spoiler here as the Old Vic programme inexplicably gives this one away.) And if we think a scene seems real, the illusion is broken by dancing stagehands rearranging the stage furniture. In one such entr’acte, Henry is poured a drink by a stagehand as he relaxes on his sofa, whilst his room is created around him. It’s not real whatever Henry (or Stoppard) has to say about it.

The production values are superb. The set is a much larger open space than a traditional living room set (Peter McKintosh – Set & Costume) with luscious royal blue walls. Different lampshades are flown in above the same white sofa to differentiate sitting rooms. The sofa even doubles for seating in a train carriage. Director Max Webster moves his characters around the stage effortlessly, and whilst much of the action takes place on the sofa it never feels too static.

Bel Powley as Annie delightfully harnesses her inner Felicity Kendall, beautifully flirtatious in an over-sexy mini dress for her early scenes and comes into her own as her relationships develop. Her clothing ages with her as she settles down into shirt and jeans, and finally a rather middle-class trouser suit. James McArdle, on the other hand, spends much of the time in just a shirt and his boxers as Henry battles it out with his typewriter and the need to write words. These two characters carry the brunt of the play through their lovemaking and their arguing and McArdle and Powley are excellent throughout. It is the quality of their speech that is impressive, their impeccable diction giving Stoppard’s verbosity Shakespearian quality.

Oliver Johnstone too excels as Max particularly showing some fine facial expression and such a pity he disappears from the action after the important early scenes. Susan Wokoma as Charlotte who is brought back for a brief catch-up scene could give us more.

A special mention of Karise Yansen as Henry and Charlotte’s teenage daughter Debbie who aces her one brief scene, allowing us to learn that Henry struggles with father-daughter relationships as much as husband and wife.

The Real Thing is Stoppard at his finest. Combine this with the outstanding design elements of the show and the stellar cast, this is a show not to be missed.

Tag Archives: Peter McKintosh

ABIGAIL’S PARTY

★★★★

Theatre Royal Stratford East

ABIGAIL’S PARTY at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

★★★★

“the golden Outhwaite’s masterclass in subtle bitchery is unforgettable”

ABIGAIL’S PARTY at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

Reviewed on 13th September 2024

by Clair Woodward

Photography by Mark Senior

Previously reviewed at this venue:

NOW, I SEE | ★★★★ | May 2024

CHEEKY LITTLE BROWN | ★★★½ | April 2024

THE BIG LIFE | ★★★★★ | February 2024

BEAUTIFUL THING | ★★★★★ | September 2023

ABIGAIL’S PARTY

ABIGAIL’S PARTY

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

THE REAL THING

★★★★

Old Vic

THE REAL THING at the Old Vic

★★★★

“Stoppard at his finest”