This was the television play that put Alison Steadman and director Mike Leigh on the map and in the consciousness of the British public. It proved to be a landmark in British drama due to the improvised nature of the piece. Leigh and Steadman were also married to each other from 1973 to 2001 and have both consistently produced acclaimed bodies of work throughout their careers in the 44 years since.
Abigail's Party is a tour de force for Steadman who plays Beverly, a nightmare dinner party host, who invites friends over for a drink while one of the guests' teenage daughters are having a party. Relationships get tested and things begin to unravel as the evening wears on in this acutely observed exercise in social manners.
From this you can see Leigh is an actor's director as he puts them and their raw emotions center stage, encouraging each actor to create their own character and manages to get nuances out of them that a confined script probably wouldn't have. The end result is a compelling, amusing and toe curling comedy drama that has stood the test of time, despite being firmly rooted in style to the 1970's when it was made.
Beverly thinks she is sophisticated and aspires to better things but in the process she shows no empathy for her stressed husband or sympathy for her neurotic neighbour, for her it's all about the facade and being something she is not.
It certainly left a big impression on the British public at the time as millions tuned in by default due to a strike on ITV so viewers had limited choice to what they could watch but what they found was a guilty pleasure that has been enjoyed by audiences ever since and remains in the BFI Top 20 TV programmes of all time.
Abigail's Party is a tour de force for Steadman who plays Beverly, a nightmare dinner party host, who invites friends over for a drink while one of the guests' teenage daughters are having a party. Relationships get tested and things begin to unravel as the evening wears on in this acutely observed exercise in social manners.
From this you can see Leigh is an actor's director as he puts them and their raw emotions center stage, encouraging each actor to create their own character and manages to get nuances out of them that a confined script probably wouldn't have. The end result is a compelling, amusing and toe curling comedy drama that has stood the test of time, despite being firmly rooted in style to the 1970's when it was made.
Beverly thinks she is sophisticated and aspires to better things but in the process she shows no empathy for her stressed husband or sympathy for her neurotic neighbour, for her it's all about the facade and being something she is not.
It certainly left a big impression on the British public at the time as millions tuned in by default due to a strike on ITV so viewers had limited choice to what they could watch but what they found was a guilty pleasure that has been enjoyed by audiences ever since and remains in the BFI Top 20 TV programmes of all time.