Abigail's Party at Oxford Playhouse

The classic Mike Leigh play from 1977 is touring again, this time with a brand new cast. It did seem a little dated to me, but after a slow start, the loughs came thick and fast. The cast were obviously having great fun, especially Hannah Waterman as Beverly.

I actually cannot remember having seen the TV production as the plot was completely new to me. There is a huge amount of (mock) alcohol consummed on stage so I bet the takings at the bar at the interval were well above normal. The director, Lindsay Posner, has created a fine staging of this production for the Theatre Royal Bath, and the tour director Tom Attenborough gets the best from the new cast. A fun evening.

PS The orange decor is more from the late sixties than 1977. Our chairs, carpet and curtains in 1968 all had orange in them. Yuck!