Abigails Party

This play has developed something of a cult status and this is confirmed by the packed audience for this performance. 

The small cast all performed well, Lianne Larthe gave a strong performance as Beverley, ably supported by Jamie Redgate as her husband Laurence. Both actors brought just the right characterisation to the part.    Caris Young played the dumb Angela beautifully, some great timing on the dialogue.  Julian Cottee played her rather chauvinistic husband Tony well.  Last but by no means least Sarah Pettican played the downtrodden Susan and demonstrated her versatility as an actress, quite a contrast to the last character I saw her play!

As the play developed we witnessed a subtle shift in the relationships between the couples, particularly with Angela coming into her own.   Director Andy Gourley brought all these nuances into play.  The denouement, with Lawrence having a heart attack was well managed.  It is interesting to see that a lot of the issues highlighted in this play are still current today.  Social climbers are still making efforts to impress!

The biggest problem, that cannot really be overcome, is the focus on smoking.  The script requires that Beverley smokes almost constantly and encourages the others to do the same.  However, it was a shame that these cigarettes were, very obviously, not being lit, let alone not being smoked.  The trail of complete cigarettes left in the ashtrays was marked.  I am not sure how to overcome this issue but there must be a way of making the consumption of cigarettes seem to be happening, whilst still not forcing the actors to actually smoke!

The scenery was very accurate; it was clear that a lot of thought had gone into making it authentic to the period.  It was lacking just a few finishing touches though, I would have liked to see the kitchen displayed better.   Just having the few tiles, required by the dialogue, on view didn’t really give a strong impression and I do think that the hatch should have had doors.  However, that is being a bit picky!

The ladies’ costumes were fine, although I would have liked to see Beverley in a much stronger colour.  The scenery was quite bland and her peach dress, beautiful though it was, did not make a very strong impression.  I thought that the men’s suits were a bit too modern for the period but I do appreciate that it is not easy to source men’s vintage clothing!

Overall a good evening entertainment, although the comment that made me smile most was from an audience member saying, “so, he snuffed it then?” as we left!  My thanks to the society for their continuing hospitality, this is most appreciated.

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