Performance Times & Tickets
Thursday 4 May: 7:30pm
Friday 5 May: 2:30pm & 7:30pm
Saturday 6 May: 7:30pm
Evenings: £25 / £23 concessions
Matinee: £23 / £21 concessions
Group booking: Buy 10 get 11th free
It was 1977, the year of skin-tight polyester, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and Saturday Night Fever. The Sex Pistols were storming up the charts, skateboarding was the latest craze and Angela Rippon danced with Morecambe & Wise.
And at Hampstead Theatre in London, Mike Leigh and his cast were putting the finishing touches to Abigail’s Party, ferocious black comedy and landmark of twentieth century theatre.
In her suburban living room, Beverly prepares for the arrival of her guests. She and husband Laurence will play host to neighbours Angela, Tony and Sue. As the alcohol flows and the ‘nibbles’ are handed around, Mike Leigh’s ruthless, achingly funny examination of 1970s British life begins…
Abigail’s Party was premièred at the Hampstead Theatre in 1977, with the role of Beverly being immortalised by Alison Steadman. A record sixteen million people watched its broadcast as Play for Today, underlining its status as a true modern classic and national treasure.
Age Guidance 14+. Contains strong language.
Michael Cabot directs Rebecca Birch (Beverly), Jo Castleton (Susan), Alice De-Warrenne (Angela), George Readshaw (Tony) and Tom Richardson (Laurence).
Reviews:
Broadway World ★★★★★
Rebecca Birch is hilarious as Beverly, and creates some particularly enjoyable moments with Alice De-Warrenne as the weedy new neighbour Angela, who gets a laugh almost every time she opens her mouth.
The Stage ★★★★
With fashionably flicked hair and an attention-grabbing orange frock, Birch oozes sexuality, upstaging even Bek Palmer’s gloriously gaudy set design.
Theatre, Films & Art Reviews ★★★★
Director Michael Cabot brings together comedy, tempers, and strong sexual tension to the stage through the excellent cast of five.
Winchester Today
A triumph for London Classic Theatre, and one I’ll happily toast with more than one “little top up”. If you’ve seen the play, you’ll know what I mean.
In Common Southampton
Dark, funny and a joy to watch. Like a time capsule from the 1970s with an intriguing, yet uncomfortable reflection on relationships and class in British society.
About London Classic Theatre
London Classic Theatre is based in Whyteleafe, Surrey and is run by Artistic Director Michael Cabot and Producer Kathryn Cabot. The company was launched in 2000 as a touring theatre company with David Mamet’s Oleanna. This inaugural tour lost a small fortune, but doors had opened and crucially, the work was being seen. Twenty-three years and forty-four tours later, London Classic Theatre is now a successful, established part of the commercial UK touring theatre scene. The company has never received any funding or sponsorship for its work. As Artistic Director, Michael Cabot has programmed a repertoire of classic and modern classic plays, a mixture of the challenging and the commercial, big titles and less well-known, including two UK premières – Hugh Leonard’s Love in the Title and Joanna Murray-Smith’s Nightfall. As venues and audiences have become more familiar with the company’s work, Michael and Kathryn have been able to push the boundaries of what LCT offers, in ambition, scale and complexity.
www.londonclassictheatre.co.uk
Facebook: @LondonClassicTheatre
Twitter: @londonclassic1
