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Abigail’s Party
5th April to 17th May
Royal Exchange Theatre
***Grab yourself a little gin and tonic and book a ticket***
***Kym Marsh has reinvented the wheel***
***If you are going to see a version of this play, then this is the one***
Five Star review *****
Abigail’s party is one of those plays everyone knows and loves. From its original sell out run in 1977 at The Hampstead Theatre, Mike Leigh then had the play filmed in the same year and was televised on BBCs ‘Play for today’. The film version has quite the cult following with many a line from the production being quoted in comedy day to day situation such as ‘would you like a cheesy-pineapple-one?’
The play is based around a suburban drinks party hosted by married couple Beverly and Laurence. Man-eater Beverly invites new neighbours Angela and Tony as well as Sue whose teenage daughter ‘Abigail’ is having her own party at Sue’s house. As the drinks begin to flow the party becomes a rollercoaster night, and each member of the cast all having space to shine. I must say I’m a little bit of a purest of the script, but I was excited and apprehensive to see this version of the play.
The role of Beverly is iconic, and it takes a talented actress to take on the role and portrayal in her own way. I didn’t need to be concerned as Kym Marsh has reinvented the wheel and made this her own. Once I got used to the Stockport accent rather than a familiar Essex one, myself and the rest of the audience were onboard. She managed to retain all the key elements of the character that we hunger for, such as an over-insistent, aggressively flirty, shrill Beverly but she’s also sexy and panther like, ready to take a swipe at her next victim. She put new nuances on unfamiliar lines that made them funnier, as well as retaining the more familiar lines such as ‘ Ange, can you take a little bit of criticism? Now, please don't be offended when I say this, but….’
Kym Marsh is a new benchmark for the role, and with Natalie Abrahami directing they have brought new life to this much-loved classic. There were some other directional changes such as the football team Tony plays for being Preston North End rather than Crystal Palace and Ange’s line about getting her house price down both worked well. I did wonder why when making these changes, others were overlooked, such as a racial slur about a driver! That being said, Natalie Abrahami direction of the production and in the round is a must see. We loved how when the record player was turned on the stage revolve also starts, a really nice touch where you can enjoy the set, staging and 70’s props. Peter Butler’s set design is one of the best I’ve seen for a while. We see many set designers becoming lazy with digital screens or a handful of off the shelf props. This set has layers, you can see that life has happened there. There are letters sat on a side unit by the letter box, a box of Daz washing powder and an old golden packet of 20B&H cigarettes, all setting the era rightly.
Laurence (Graeme Hawley) is Beverly’s long-suffering husband and workaholic. We see him slowly (and literally) getting redder in the face as the night goes on and manages to maintain this burnt out level of energy which is about to explode.
Sue (Tupele Dorgu) is superb as the middle-class Sue and Abigail’s mum. We see her slowly get more drunk and wondering why the hell she has agreed to come to the party. Lots of great subtle facial expressions that were very much apricated.
Yasmin Taheri and Kyle Rowe play married couple Ange and Tony who are new to the area. Yasmin brought a new freshness to the role of Ange showing at times a more vulnerable side. This was matched by Kyle’s version of a very manly Tony. Kyle also gives a great performance but just what did happen down at Abigail’s house when he popped down?
This is arguably Mike Leigh’s most loved play. When I would whole heartly recommend. If you are going to see a version of this play, then this is the one. So, grab yourself a little gin and tonic or a light ale and book a ticket. Plays at Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre until 17th May.
Booking via below link:
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