Abigail’s Party – Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

Writer: Mike Leigh

Director: Natalie Abrahami

Darkly comic and deeply uncomfortable, Abigail’s Party is a boozy masterclass in 1970s British suburban discontent and social dissection.

The Royal Exchange presents a welcomed revival of Mike Leigh’s classic play, written almost 48 years ago, which hits on the portrayal of bored, middleclass house wives who have built their identity on the back of consumerism and a keeping up with the Joneses lifestyle. An aspiration which has perhaps inspired others, think Hyacinth Bucket, and most recently BBC’s Amandaland. However, what lies beneath the façade, and revealed very subtlety here, is the complex, lonely women trapped underneath this idyllic suburbia.

Polite smiles and forced small talk are drowned out in an endless supply of drinks from hostess Beverly (Kym Marsh) who entertains her new neighbours, nurse Angela (Yasmin Taheri) and man of few words, Tony (Kyle Rowe). Also in attendance is divorcee Sue (Tupele Dorgu) from number 19, whose teenage daughter, the unseen Abigail, is throwing a wild party down the street.

Beverly’s run ragged husband Laurence (Graeme Hawley), overworked providing for his overbearing wife, becomes increasingly agitated throughout the evening, annoyed by Bev’s overly flirtatious behaviour and enforced fun. What starts as an awkward social evening quickly spirals into a boozy, passive-aggressive battlefield.

In true Mike Leigh improvisational style, the characters were shaped and devised by the original cast, including Alison Steadman, whose iconic and memorable performance as Beverly is taken on by Marsh, who, as soon as she enters the space and lifts the needle onto ‘Love to Love You Baby,’ manages to add her own stamp with northern sass and flair. Marsh’s eventual unravelling of boozy Bev is unnerving, making her guests more and more uncomfortable, smothering them into submission, whilst providing us with touching moments of her own vulnerability.

Designer Peter Butler perfectly recreates the ultimate 70s middle class suburban abode, with a palette of colours, and geometric shapes remnant of the time period. The attention to detail including cheese and pineapple Hedgehogs, the heavy ashtrays and authentic costume design is a delight be held. Built in the round, the ground floor structure of Beverly and Lawrence’s house is created using abstract shapes which suggests the exterior. A set of unfinished stairs promises the first floor where you can imagine is further evidence of over indulgent furnishings, beyond the kitsch erotica which adorns the walls.

As the set starts to carousel, disjointing its structure, we too get a sense of the woozy disorientation of the alcohol intoxicated guests, who appear to be trapped with no escape from Bev’s simultaneous desperate attempts for everyone to have a good time.

Director Natalie Abrahami successfully unpicks a beautifully multifaceted observation of social and cultural class dynamics, revealed in the small talk between the guests, from feminism to art and music. The sharp comic wit and timing, reminds us of Leigh’s brilliance.

Runs until 24 May 2025