Abigail's Party Tickets

Mike Leigh’s tragic-comic exploration of class, materialism and sexual tension in 1970s England is a hugely popular modern classic. Now it’s back, this time at the Stratford East theatre, with the brilliant Tamsin Outhwaite and Kevin Bishop in starring roles. Prepare to be delighted.

The production is directed by Stratford East Artistic Director Nadia Fall, who is by all accounts really looking forward to directing Leigh’s cult classic, her final show as the venue’s artistic director. She calls it a deliciously dark comedy that peeks behind the twitching curtains of ’70s suburbia in all its camp and terrifying glory. Expect a hotbed of one-upmanship, feuding couples, nosy neighbours and social climbing as the action unfolds.

Abigail's Party - The Story

The place is Essex, the year is 1977. Beverly is hosting a party for the new neighbours and everyone’s getting drunk. There’s music by the Greek chart-topper Demis Roussos and they’re serving chunks of cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks, a peculiar party snack that thankfully never made it out of the 1970s. And Beverly is the queen of the castle.

The new neighbours Angela and Tony are there, along with Sue from next door, and there’s another party going on at Sue’s house, a noisy affair held by her teenage daughter Abigail. As the booze flows the stilted small talk morphs into embarrassing flirtations and marital bickering, and the party quickly turns into the evening from hell. But it would be rude to leave...

Abigail's Party - Cast and Creative Team

Tamzin Outhwaite, loved for her work on EastEnders and New Tricks, stars as Beverley. This is her first time on the West End stage since the West End revival of Noises Off. She has also delighted theatre audiences in Sweet Charity, Boeing Boeing, Jamie Lloyd’s The Seagull, How the Other Half Loves, Stepping Out, Di & Viv & Rose, Breeders, and Grease.

Comedy actor Kevin Bishop (Inside No. 9, The Kevin Bishop Show) plays her other half Laurence, and Pandora Colin (Dear Octopus, Film Stars Don’t Die) plays Susan. Omar Malik (The Tower S3, My Beautiful Launderette) is Tony and Ashna Rabheru (Top Girls, Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, The Ballad of Renegade Nell) is Angela.

The creative team includes Peter McKintosh as set and costume designer, Howard Harrison as lighting designer, Alexandra Faye Braithwaite as sound designer, and James Cousins as movement director. Amy Ball is responsible for casting, Lily Dyble is the as assistant director and Mary Charlton is the costume supervisor. Lizzie Frankl and Edie Fitt-Martin from Propworks London are the props supervisors.