ABIGAIL'S PARTY Comes to Watford Palace Theatre

This brand new production by Pravesh Kumar with Goldy Notay as Beverley casts the attitudes to class and social standing of Mike Leigh's classic in a whole new light.

Welcome to 1970s suburbia and its heady mix of free-flowing drinks, classic disco and cheese & pineapple sticks. Aspirational Beverly and her estate agent husband Laurence are hosting a soiree for their newlywed neighbours. They are joined by a very anxious Susan, who has been banished from her daughter Abigail's party. As the evening goes on, marital tensions rise and tempers flare as the characters' true natures are hilariously but ruthlessly exposed. Set against the backdrop of an evolving Britain of the 70s, this fresh production shows the classic Mike Leigh satire in a new light.

Director Pravesh Kumar MBE said, 'I'm thrilled to be directing one of my favourite plays by Mike Leigh, who has inspired me and my work for so long. I wanted to bring a freshness to it by casting Goldy Notay as Beverly with a really representative cast, which in itself puts a new light on themes of class and race in the play. I think it is important to reimagine our classic works and make them even more accessible. I am excited to be directing for Watford Palace Theatre for the first time and open the doors to a whole new audience that may never have seen this wonderful comedy set in ruthless suburbia.'

Goldy Notay is an Asian British-Canadian film, television and stage actress. She played Roopi, the lead in the Gurinder Chadha film It's A Wonderful Afterlife. She has appeared as Shireen in the Mike Bartlett drama The Town and Amar Akbar & Tony a comedy Brit flick on Netflix. She plays series regular Miriam Akhtar in Ackley Bridge on Channel 4, and played Bindu in ITV period drama Beecham House.

Pravesh Kumar is the Artistic Director of Rifco Theatre Company and was awarded an MBE for Services to Theatre in the Queen's New Year's honours 2022. He started Rifco Theatre Company in 2000 to make a different kind of theatre for a community that could not see themselves represented on English stages. Rifco Theatre Company has been the Resident Company since 2011 and have coproduced 9 shows with Watford Palace Theatre. Pravesh has been at the forefront of bringing new British South Asian audiences into theatres all over the country. His theatrical directorial debut was in 2000 with a UK tour of Bollywood - Yet Another Love Story. He has gone on to achieve critical acclaim for Rifco's productions: Britain's Got Bhangra, The Deranged Marriage, Laila The Musical, Dishoom!, Pyar Actually, Miss Meena & the Masala Queens, Happy Birthday Sunita, There's Something About Simmy, Airport 2000, Meri Christmas, and Break The Floorboards. His short film, Gods on Mountains was nominated for the Satyajit Ray Short Film Award. Most recently Pravesh wrote the book for the acclaimed rap musical, Mushy: Lyrically Speaking. Pravesh is currently co-writing a new main stage musical and leads on the Rifco Associates programme finding new British South Asian voices of the future. He has just directed his first feature film Little English, which is currently in post-production.

Mike Leigh OBE is a celebrated English writer and director of film and theatre. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, at Camberwell and Central Art Schools in London, and at the London Film School. He has written and directed over twenty stage plays. These include Babies Grow Old (1974), Abigail's Party (1977), Ecstasy (1979), Goose-Pimples (1981), Smelling A Rat (1988), Greek Tragedy (1989), It's A Great Big Shame! (1993), Two Thousand Years (2005) and Grief (2011). His first feature film was Bleak Moments (1971). This was followed by the full-length television films, Hard Labour (1973), Nuts In May (1975), The Kiss of Death (1976), Who's Who (1978), Grown-Ups (1980), Home Sweet Home (1982), Meantime (1983) and Four Days In July (1984). Other feature films are High Hopes (1988), Life Is Sweet (1990), Naked (1993), Secrets & Lies (1996), Career Girls (1997), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All Or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), Another Year (2010) and Mr. Turner (2014). Peterloo, the story of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre where British forces attacked a peaceful pro-democracy rally in Manchester, was released in 2017.

Abigail's Party is a play for stage and television, devised and directed by Mike Leigh in 1977. It is a suburban situation comedy of manners firmly rooted in the 1970s. As is now characteristic in the work of Mike Leigh, play was developed in lengthy improvisations exploring the characters with the actors. The production opened in April 1977 at the Hampstead Theatre, returning for a second run in the summer of 1977, and then adapted by the BBC as a Play for Today in November 1977. Alison Steadman famously originated the role of Beverly, whilst married to Leigh.

The show is presented with a complementary production by the Watford Palace youth theatres: Abi's House Party. A brand-new devised piece made by members of the Palace Young Company, Palace Youth Theatre and Young Orbital groups; the play imagines just what is going on next door at the infamous off stage teenage house party of the title. Presented for three performances 6-7 April. The Palace Young Company launched in 2021 with generous funding from the Garfield Weston Foundation and offers opportunities for 16-25 year olds to develop their skills on and offstage. https://watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk/events/abis-house-party/

Performances run 10 March - 2 April 2022.

Tickets: watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk | 01923 225671

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