Cheesy party girl was a ticking social timebomb; Abigail's Party REWIND Proof telly isn't as good as it was

Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Huddersfield, England), Oct 11, 2008

"TONE? A little cheesy-pineapple one?"

Never has such a seemingly innocent question become such a cult statement.

But then, only in Abigail's Party, Mike Leigh's classic observation of social climbing at its most excruciating, could it have been quite so memorable.

Now, along with dozens of other quotes, it's become the stuff of tribute parties, along with gems such as "Now, can you take a little bit of criticism?" and "Just because a picture happens to be erotic does not make it pornographic."

Each is uttered by Abigail's Party heroine Beverly, played by Alison Steadman as the epitome of an aspiring middle class housewife in 1970s suburbia. She wears low-cut dresses, too much make-up and has a reputation as a man-eater.

She also does an awful line in party chit-chat although, of course, she doesn't realise it and ploughs on regardless, offering her guests copious amounts of chilled red wine and Demis Roussos.

Beverly, along with her fellow partygoers - Laurence, Angela, Tony and Susan - were Mike Leigh's creations for his stage play and for the BBC's Play for Today.

Leigh, Alison Steadman's husband at the time, had already achieved some acclaim for his previous TV play Nuts In May. But Abigail's Party reached whole new levels of adoration.

An unexpected success at the Hampstead Theatre, it would have transferred to the West End had it not been for Alison Steadman becoming pregnant. The BBC suggested a Play for Today slot instead, but Leigh wasn't convinced at first that it would translate to TV.He was persuaded to change his mind and it became a phenomenon.

When it was repeated due to popular demand in 1979, 16 million people tuned in.

Both fantastically funny and moving, it was originally developed through improvisation. Leigh would explore the characters with the actors, but not always reveal the incidents that would occur during the play.

The premise remained the same, though: a social get-together between married couples which turns into a timebomb of emotional tension.

The guests are two couples and a divorced neighbour who embark on an evening of shameless one-upmanship. Abigail, of the title, never actually appears at all.

She is Susan's teenage daughter, who is throwing a party next door.

In her absence, Beverly, her evidently loathed husband Laurence (Tim Stern), taciturn Tony (John Salthouse) and his mousy wife Angela (Janine Duvitski) rack up a painful 102 minutes of social interaction with divorcee Sue (Harriet Reynolds) - who is struggling not to get sick on the gin and cheese.

All the action takes place on a single set and, as the alcohol starts to flow so, too, do the resentments and prejudices.

Overbearing Beverly smokes, drinks and flirts with Tony, much to the annoyance of her husband.

Tony's wife, nurse Angela, is spectacularly gormless and a challenge to her hostess. In an effort to improve her appearance, Beverly gives Angela "a little bit of criticism" then encourages her to sit in front of a mirror and repeat to herself "I've got very beautiful lips."

It is just one of many scenes which typify Beverly's total, but unintentional, insensitivity and gaucheness which are the trademark of the play.

CAPTION(S):

COUPLING: Alison Steadman as Beverly and Tim Stern as Laurence in Abigail's Party