Review: ABIGAIL'S PARTY, Stratford East

The Seventies were a time for cheesy pineapple, bellbottom jeans, Elton John, and ABBA. Mike Leigh captured the pre-Thatcher English middle class in a darkly comic picture that turns out to be an evergreen classic half a century later.

Revived some ten miles from the story’s real-life setting, this is Nadia Fall’s last show as Artistic Director of the venue and features known ‘EastEnder’ Tamzin Outhwaite as Beverly Moss. With heavy accents and comedy played seriously, the production perfectly embodies the spirit of Leigh’s tragicomic masterpiece. Leigh’s script - a delicious concoction of question tags and scrumptious sarcasm - is in safe hands: Fall leaves Stratford East with a bang. 

Outhwaite was born to play Beverly, the hostess with the mostest and former department store beautician. From the lounging on her “expensive” sofa in seven-inch heels to the cheekily smooth chain-smoking, she commands the stage - and her husband - with clipped firmness and an idiosyncratic sing-song condescension. She waves her cigarette around, gesticulating with flair, aggrandising every snippet of her small life and revelling in other people’s misfortunes. There’s an art to pointing out flaws and miseries under the guises of concern and Outhwaite nails it with gusto. She’s having a ball, and so are we. This is stunt casting worth travelling for - the company as a whole is, in fact. 

Alongside Outhwaite’s imposing presence, Kevin Bishop’s Laurence is brilliantly uncomfortable in his skin. Fidgety, with easily waspish tendencies, and endlessly hilarious in the sarcastic delivery of his character’s propriety, he takes his wife’s derision with mild offence until he too explodes. His controlled pronunciation grates against Beverly’s diphthongs and extended vowels. “Fahn-tæh-stick” she repeats in answer to her guests’ humdrum chitchat while he tries to seem more cultured than all of them with his unread Shakespeare and leather-bound Dickens. They establish a dynamic that’s simply captivating, almost in a morbid way.

The necessity of keeping up appearances becomes of utmost importance when lower-middle class couple Angela and Tony show up. He’s “in computers” and she’s a nurse who can’t wait to bring up how they managed to take the price of their house down by a grand. Meek and humble, Ashna Rabheru shapeshifts into a Chatty Cathy when the alcohol starts flowing. Her spouse is a man of very few words; portrayed by Omar Malik, he sulks broodingly while Beverly ogles him throwing innuendos.

On the other side of the spectrum, Pandora Colin gives a quietly dazzling performance. Steeped in subtle nuance, she’s the final unfortunate guest, whose daughter is having the eponymous bash. Divorced and demure, her Sue is a slave of social niceties and stands directly opposite to Outhwaite’s grandiose flamboyance. She turns up expecting a meal and can’t decline Beverly’s “little top-ups”, so ends up being sick. Rabheru’s Angela delights in helping her, while Beverly can’t hide her amusement at this turn of events. As the party gets tipsier and friskier, the heat rises to catastrophic levels. 

Outhwaite might be the top-billed star of this pitch black comedy, but Fall’s revival is very much an ensemble piece. Leigh's crisp social satire combines with a vision that pays homage to the piece's history, flawless casting, and a gorgeous set by Peter McKintosh (a midweight 70s dream home complete with fibre optic lamp, room-divider, and loud wallpaper). Suburban boredom and catty schadenfreude might look slightly different nowadays, but Abigail’s Party remains a hoot.

Abigail's Party runs at Stratford East until 12 October.

Photo credit: Mark Senior