ALAN McGUIRE welcomes a biography of the French semiologist and philosopher
Time catches up with 1970s classic
PAUL FOLEY is disappointed by a production that encourages the audience to laugh at rather than with the characters
THE HOSTESS FROM HELL: Kym Marsh as Beverly with Graeme Hawley as Laurence
[Johan Persson] 
ALEX HALL is frustrated by a book that ducks a clear definition of terrorism and fails to perceive the role of the state in sponsoring it
JOE GILL wholeheartedly recommends an eloquent manifesto: how to change the world one local project at a time
Inspired by a photograph, a unique memorial in Michigan immortalises US true labour heroes. MICHAL BONCZA recalls a great story rarely told
MARIA DUARTE, LEO BOIX and ANGUS REID review Brides, Dead of Winter, A Night Like This, and The Librarians
MARIA DUARTE is entertained by a wry portrait of befuddled resistance to US authoritarianism
Abigail’s Party
Royal Exchange Manchester
MIKE LEIGH’S Abigail’s Party was a huge hit with both critics and audiences when it premiered at the Hampstead Theatre 1977. Its success led to a televised version being screened in the prestigious Play for Today series on BBC.
Leigh has created a tragi-comedy around Beverley and Laurence, an upwardly mobile couple with aspirations for sophistication.
Similar stories
SUSAN DARLINGTON applauds a one-man show that navigates racist barriers to tell the story of the black pilot, boxer and jazz musician
PAUL FOLEY recommends an extraordinary double bill that packs a punch and leaves you reeling
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
PAUL FOLEY applauds a faultless musical that tells the tragic real-life story of working-class winners of the football pools