17 – 19 July        Read our review on 18 July

Mike Leigh’s landmark drama ABIGAIL’S PARTY is bound for Bath as London Classic Theatre’s hit UK tour appears at the Theatre Royal.

Comedy, drama and tragedy combine in Mike Leigh’s iconic play, starring Rebecca Birch as Beverly, Jo Castleton as Susan, Alice De-Warrenne as Angela, George Readshaw as Tony and Tom Richardson as Laurence.

In her suburban living room, Beverly prepares for the arrival of her guests. She and husband Laurence are playing host to their neighbours Angela, Tony and Susan. As the alcohol flows and the ‘nibbles’ are handed around, Mike Leigh’s ruthless and achingly funny examination of 1970’s British life begins.

Written in 1977, the year of skin-tight polyester, the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and Saturday Night Fever, The Sex Pistols were storming up the charts, skateboarding was the latest craze and Angela Rippon danced with Morecambe and Wise. At Hampstead Theatre in London, the world-renowned writer and director Mike Leigh and his cast were putting the finishing touches to the world premiere production of Abigail’s Party. Forty-six years later Leigh’s ferocious black comedy remains a landmark of twentieth-century theatre.

Rebecca Birch plays Beverly. Her theatre credits include a host of productions in London, nationwide and abroad, including Pygmalion in the West End and at Chichester Festival Theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Lyric Hammersmith for Filter Theatre and The Master Builder at Chichester. On screen, her credits include Long Forgotten Fields, Electric Dreams and Victoria. Rebecca has previously performed at the Theatre Royal Bath in London Classic Theatre’s production of My Mother Said I Never Should in 2019; and in Relative Values in 2013, a Theatre Royal Bath production, which opened in Bath prior to a West End transfer.

Jo Castleton, who plays Susan, returns to the Theatre Royal after touring to Bath in last year’s London Classic Theatre production of Boeing Boeing. Her many theatre credits include War Horse at the National Theatre; Elephant 21 at the Royal Court Theatre; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the National Theatre and in the West End, and a host of plays at Haymarket Basingstoke, Eastbourne Theatres, Liverpool Playhouse and on UK tour. Her television credits include Suspicion and Somewhere Boy. Jo has also previously performed at the Theatre Royal Bath in Daisy Pulls It Off in 1991 and Witness for the Prosecution in 1992.

Alice De-Warrenne plays Angela. Her theatre credits include The Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare’s Globe, Peppa Pig’s Best Day Ever in the West End and on tour, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Pinocchio at Greenwich Theatre, Bing Live on UK tour, Wrecked at the VAULT Festival and Under My Thumb at Greenwich Theatre, New Diorama and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Her television credits include Black Ops.

George Readshaw plays Tony. His theatre credits include A Christmas Carol at Bristol Old Vic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream on UK tour and Flies at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His television credits include Extraordinary. Readshaw is the co-founder of Half Cut Theatre, a young touring theatre company set up in the midst of the pandemic.

Tom Richardson plays Laurence. His theatre credits include numerous productions for Mercury Theatre, Chester’s Storyhouse Theatre, Guildford Shakespeare Company, Chester Performs, Theatre by the Lake, Watford Palace Theatre and York Theatre Royal. Tom has also toured the UK in Much Ado About Nothing and Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

Director Michael Cabot is the founder and Artistic Director of London Classic Theatre. He has directed all forty-four LCT productions since their debut in 2000, including My Mother Said I Never Should, Boeing Boeing and Absurd Person Singular, which toured to Bath. His freelance work as director includes three collaborations with award-winning playwright Henry Naylor.

Mike Leigh OBE is one of Britain’s most influential theatre and film directors. His work has won over seventy awards, including an Oscar for Topsy Turvy; a National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film for Life is Sweet; the Best Comedy Award for the stage play Goose Pimples; the Best Director Award at Cannes Film Festival for Naked, and the Palme d’Or at Cannes for Secrets and Lies. His many films also include All or Nothing, Vera Drake and Mr Turner. His stage works, Two Thousand Years and Grief, played at the Theatre Royal Bath in 2006 and 2011 respectively, direct from world premiere seasons at the National Theatre.

Abigail’s Party appears at the Theatre Royal Bath from Monday 17^th to Wednesday 19^th July. To book tickets contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or visit www.theatreroyal.org.uk

Photo credit:  Sheila Burnett