Review: Abigail’s Party at The Royal Exchange is ‘a classic, full of big hits’

The Royal Exchange is emerging from a tough time and they are beginning to realise like many other venues that well-known productions will get people turning up.

The new season includes Abigail’s Party, Dancing at Lughnasa, and Singin’ in the Rain and you can see why. There are reliable classics that will pack ’em in.

Mike Leigh’s classic BBC play for today Abigail’s Party is an awkward watch, as you find yourself peering through the window of a suburban house, during a soiree.

Abigail’s Party at The Royal Exchange

As the alcohol begins to flow and the pineapples on sticks are handed out, you find yourself cringing as the hostess Beverley begins to smother all around her with constant offers of another drink, mixer or a cigarette, so that they can play ‘catch up’ with her.

Natalie Abrahami’s new stage production moves from Essex to Manchester and to begin with, you are not sure if this works. But slowly but surely, you realise that these characters exist everywhere.

The setting is suburbia, but the conversations that ensue are not specific to a particular place.

Alison Steadman’s Beverley is so well known to many, that the best way to avoid comparisons is not to impersonate her. And Kym Marsh underplays her so well, that by the time we return for act two, she is like a boiling saucepan full of milk, on the verge of overheating and burning all of the poor guests.

If you have seen the original TV play, or previous stage productions, you will know that Abigail is never seen.

Tupele Dorgu

She is a teen who is throwing a party over the road. She is Susan’s daughter, and her mother (Tupele Dorgu) is a guest at this party.

Beverley get her teeth into her by referring to what the teens might be getting up to, which makes her very nervous. Constantly referred to as “Sue” – you can see her shifting about on the couch, wanting it to swallow her up.

Dorgu plays this beautifully, looking so awkward on a seventies sofa, that she has a face that says ‘Where is the ejector or panic button?’ Graeme Hawley plays Beverley’s husband Laurence, a man who cannot do right for wrong. He is constantly fetching and carrying for his wife and by the time the party begins, he feels as if he has been pushed onto a big stage to do a comedy night with no rehearsals.

Prone to outbursts to let everyone know he exists in his own right and he is more than a foil for his puppet master wife, he flits around the space like a bug looking for a hiding place behind the skirting boards.

Hawley is superb, as he conveys frustration and  a longing to be ‘seen and heard’ with real ease.

Yasmin Taheri

Angela (Yasmin Taheri) comes across as naïve on arrival. But you soon realise that she is longing for an identity of her own within her marriage. Her husband Tony (Kyle Rowe) does not say much but he often reins her in and puts the brakes on when she begins to enjoy herself.

Her anecdotes highlight a woman who is losing who she really is. Taheri and Rowe are great actors as they invite the audience to look beyond the surface, and not take anything at face value.

And they paint subtle brush strokes between the lines.

Peter Butler’s set design is excellent, as you cannot have gaudy wallpaper here, as this is in the round. So, you need a floor in which our hostess can perform, as this is Beverley’s stage.

If you sit anywhere but the sides, you do struggle to see every side-eye or eye roll. But something starts to happen to aid you, as Beverley and Laurence begin to play their records, the stage starts to spin, meaning you can see every uncomfortable moment, and there is nowhere to hide for anyone.

And the action starts to feel like a scratched record as the night goes on. “Are you okay, Sue?” Press repeat.

Because Kym Marsh does not play Beverly as a monster, you realise that every hurtful thing she is doing is down  to loneliness.

And everyone at the party feels alone, even when they are together. Hers is a performance to savour far more than the nibbles she hands out to the prisoners, I mean guests.

If you know the original, you will wait for key moments that you remember to take place, and when they happen, you can hear giggles leading up to them, as many audience members know what is coming.

And like one of Demis Roussos’s biggest hits, it feels like ‘Forever and ever’ for the visitors, who all start to look for a reason to leave.

Abigail’s Party remains a classic and this run has been extended due to popular demand. So grab a Gin and T, sit back and relax with Tone, Sue, and Ange.

Tickets for Abigail’s Party at the Royal Exchange Theatre

Abigail’s Party is at the Royal Exchange Theatre until 24^th May and can be booked here