Abigail's Party

This was a well – paced production of Mike Leigh's award winning play. Although I comment on the pace of the action there were some excellently crafted silences where the silence and demeanour of the actors spoke volumes.

The overbearing, controlling and domineering Beverly was superbly played by Sarah Stanley. She had obviously thought out the complications of Beverly’s character and she maintained her behaviour throughout. Although we, as an audience, could be annoyed by her, we could also feel sorry for her.

Beverly’s long-suffering husband, Laurence, was played with conviction by Stefan Dufaye and we wondered why he was still in this relationship. His escapism lifestyle finally caught up with him though. New neighbours, Angela and Tony, developed their characters very well as the story unfolded. At the start Tony, played by Robin Lewitt, was wishing he wasn’t there but the flirtatious attentions of Beverly began to change that. However, when things started to unravel, he showed real strength of character. Angela, played by society debutant Anshu Sachdev, was quite timid at the start. As the free-flowing drink took hold she began to assert herself. Much of the humour was provided by the brilliant portrayal of Susan by Maureen George. She was only there to keep out of the way of her daughter Abigail who was having a party at home. All that Susan wanted was a quiet relaxing evening but Beverly bullied her into drinking so as the evening progressed, she got more intoxicated. Eventually Angela started to bully her also.

The relationships and development of the characters were well crafted by director, Nigel Lowe. The set and props were excellent and were typical of the 1970s.

Well done to everyone involved! It’s great to be back and the audience certainly showed their gratitude and appreciation.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.