Jimmy watches Countdown and tries to ignore his bills, grief, COPD and frailty. Meanwhile, his carer walks a tightrope between kindness and reality
Latest editorial
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]
JOHN FLINT explores the Appleby Blue development, winner of the Stirling prize 2025
GORDON PARSONS enjoys the wealth of wisdom and the clarity of expression from a dialogue between Chomsky and Mujica
GUILLERMO THOMAS enjoys a survey of the current state of the CIA (aka Langley) from an expert and insider of sorts
MARIA DUARTE, FIONA O CONNOR and JOHN GREEN review The Choral, Belen, Dragonfly, and Colossal Wreck
WILL STONE is frustrated by a performance that chooses to garble the lyrics and drown the songs in reverb
RITA DI SANTO points out the social experience of exploitation and oppression that inform the popular winners at this year’s festival
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