Abigail's Party review

Mike Leigh’s 1977 play will forever be haunted by the original Hampstead production, which was filmed and broadcast by the BBC later that year. It was watched by millions, making a star of Leigh’s then-wife Alison Steadman, who played party-hostess Beverly. As a comedy of manners, the drama satirised the new middle class of the period, with a drinks do that descends into a slanging match between Beverly and her aspirational husband Laurence.

Michael Cabot directed this play for London Classic Theatre in 2007 and now revisits it, bringing a renewed vitality to the text while maintaining its ominous edge. It’s undoubtedly a crowd-pleaser, as Leigh carefully lays bare both the vulgarity and vulnerability of each character. But there are nuances to Cabot’s production that shake up the relationships without altering the action’s spiralling trajectory.

Rebecca Birch’s Beverly still engages in subtle playground tactics to rule the roost, but she also has an unexpected warmth. With fashionably flicked hair and an attention-grabbing orange frock, Birch oozes sexuality, upstaging even Bek Palmer’s gloriously gaudy set design. Birch gradually exposes Beverly’s boredom and underlying insecurities, encouraged by gin and a chance to flirt with the new neighbour.
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