"Play for Today" Abigail's Party (1977)

Director:

Mike Leigh

Writer:

Mike Leigh (writer)

TV Series:

"Play for Today" (1970)

Original Air Date:

1 November 1977 (Season 8, Episode 3)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A TV play based on the Hampstead Theatre production. Beverly has invited her new neighbours, Angela and Tony...

Plot Keywords:

Party | Tragicomedy | Character Name In Title | Male Female Relationship

Cast

Alison Steadman	...	Beverly
Tim Stern	...	Laurence
Janine Duvitski	...	Angela
John Salthouse	...	Tony
Harriet Reynolds	...	Susan

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Alison Steadman based Beverly on a lady she knew whilst at Drama school in Essex, she merged this person with a woman she saw demonstrating a make-up range at a department store who either knowingly or unknowingly humiliated a lady she had plucked from the passing shoppers and telling a watching crowd she had applied her lipstick very badly.

Quotes:

[Laurence puts the Shakespeare play back on the bookshelf]
Laurence: Our nation's culture. Not something you can actually read, of course.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in All About 'Abigail's Party' (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Forever and Ever

No real plot... but so compelling!!

I reckon that this is the sort of movie that gets film students all excited. There are so many levels to this flick that you could probably go on for days pulling apart and examining the different characters, relationships and commentaries. But I recommend you watch this film purely for entertainment purposes - it's great. The actors are believable, the story is simplistic (yet so effective) and the period touches are great - because this is essentialy a period drama (the period being very firmly in the 1970s). For a film to have such little plot yet remain so compelling is testament to each and every element that makes up this movie. Watch it.