Abigail’s Party

Thank you All Saint’s ( Elton) for the invitation to your performance of Abigail’s Party, once again it was lovely to be out watching live theatre and with a full audience atmosphere.

The stage was full of physical, moveable sets that looked very in keeping with the piece, it was nice to see the curtains close as a nod to the passage of time as the play unfolded. The actors had plenty of room and did no unnecessary pacing or turning about, all the marks certainly seemed to be hit seemlessly. The props were well in keeping with the era and were handled comfortably, especially the gin/water. The lighting for me was a little bit static ,however, I do understand a limited lighting rig in a church hall can’t possibly do the same things as a full rig in a working theatre and it did not detract from the action on the stage.

The cast consisted of five actors and they were comfortable together which came across with some nice chemistry to the audience. I was a little disappointed to hear the prompter so much though and to visually see some of the actors eyes go straight to the prompt and to feed a line to a close standing actor, this is me being super picky and I am putting it down to not having performed in front of an audience for two years and nerves, we are all still very much feeling the Covid Effect.

The characterisations had been well thought out and came across ably to the audience, I especially enjoyed the anxious draining of drinks, eye rolls and gritting of teeth. The ladies costumes were bright and loud and both men’s and ladies were in keeping with the era. The discography was extensive, of a good volume and all came in on cue perfectly. 

All in all an enjoyable performance, I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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