The bard rests on his laurels, and swipes left and right
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] 
MARIA DUARTE cherishes the flashes of absurd humour and theme of community healing in a documentary set in a Soviet-era Black Sea sanatorium
ANGUS REID and MARIA DUARTE review The Courageous, The Cut, Christy, and On Swift Horses
TOM STONE sings the praises of one of the oldest open-air festivals in Britain
Chris Searle speaks to accordionist KAREN STREET
MAYER WAKEFIELD speaks to Urielle Klein-Mekongo about activism, musical inspiration and the black British experience
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
PAUL FOLEY applauds a faultless musical that tells the tragic real-life story of working-class winners of the football pools
PAUL DONOVAN recommends a new, updated production of Mike Leigh’s bittersweet comedy of manners