Comment

Amy Starling and Alice Selwyn

IT'S perhaps no surprise that this production of Abigail's Party is such a finely tuned and well-oiled machine.

After all, these are the final performances of London Classic Theatre's 2008 tour of Mike Leigh's 1977 play, so the actors have inhabited these characters for five months or so. And Steve Dineen has been poor old Laurence since last September.

It's a wonderful trip down memory lane for those who were there first time round, and as much of an entertainment for those who missed it all. The glorious set provided much entertainment pre curtain-up, as giggles of recognition were heard around the auditorium. Having been born in the glorious 1970s, I was able to look, laugh and blame my parents, recognising several pieces of furniture which took pride of place in our family home - although not the hideous art, thank goodness - and get the joke about holidays in Palma Nova.

As most people know, Abigail's Party is about many things, most notably the subject which remains to this day an elephant in the room, class. But, thirty one years later, it's still a coruscating, relevant satire. Anxious party host Beverly, who invites her neighbours round to impress and interrogate them, is the embodiment of many modern anxieties.

We could see how the work deliberates on age, different generations, anyone who's ever pretended to be someone they're not, one-upmanship, an Englishman's home, and so much else, thanks to the really superb cast of five.

Alison Steadman's Beverly long ago entered the national consciousness, but the elegant Alice Selwyn has more than made Bev her own. Her good looks added an extra frisson to her raunchy flirting with her friend Ange's (Amy Starling) near-monosyllabic husband Tony (Jamie Matthewman), all in front of her own husband, Laurence, and she was perfectly overbearing throughout.

Starling was wonderful, just hilarious. Her posture garnered laughs all on its own, as did that of Anna Kirke as poor middle class Susan, whose rebellious daughter was holding the titular gathering in a house down the road. Kirke's portrayal was a triumph, too, brittle, delicate, and desperately empathetic.

As the simmering tension and hostility gave way to fireworks in act two, and everything came crashing down, we were all thoroughly delighted to have spent a few hours in the company of such talented individuals, breathing new life into such an important twentieth century work.

Print

Email this

Comment