Abigail's Party - Review

Stratford East, London

****

Written by Mike Leigh

Directed by Nadia Fall

Tamzin Outhwaite

Tardis-like, Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party takes us back in time nearly 50 years in his eviscerating glimpse into UK suburban life. Played out over a Demis Roussos soundtrack and accompanied by cubes of cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks, one starts to get a hint of the 1970s culture and attitudes that this play so brilliantly showcases.

Tamzin Outhwaite dominates the play's action (that never leaves her front room) as Beverly, dressed like a wannabe Greek goddess and trying desperately, futilely, to bring a whirl of glamour into her dull marriage to estate-agent Laurence (Kevin Bishop) by having invited the neighbours round for drinks, nibbles and endlessly proffered cigarettes.

In her inept attempts at sophistication, Beverly is a Hyacinth Bucket crossed with Sybil Fawlty, but unlike those two giants of the UK’s comedy landscape, she is a woman with a darker and more vulnerable side. She cannot restrain herself from outrageously provocative flirting with neighbour Tony (Omar Malik), a former professional footballer who in terms of his masculine sexuality, possesses everything that she perceives the inadequate Laurence to lack. And yet, in the play’s finale (no spoilers here) Beverly reveals herself to be both deeply loving of, and possibly emotionally dependant upon, her husband. Beverly is an inspired creation by Leigh, and in Outhwaite’s interpretation, truly one of the most exciting performances to be found in London today.

The supporting actors are similarly excellent in their contributions to this domesticated evening from hell. Ashna Rabheru plays Angela, Tony’s wife. A nurse by profession, yet dominated brutally and bullyingly at home by her husband, Rabheru captures Angela’s naïve yet knowing complexities with a fine understanding. Laurence in his own way is as ghastly as his wife and Bishop does well to capture his aspirational, faux cultural-wisdom alongside his thinly veiled racism.   There is just a hint of Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, as he and Beverly spar in the ring of their unhappy union.

Completing this exquisitely observed quintet is Pandora Colin as divorcee neighbour Susan and mother of the (unseen) 15 year-old Abigail who has been left at home across the road, hosting her eponymous rowdy teenage house party. 

Stratford East’s Artistic Director Nadia Fall directs with perceptive wisdom, her work enhanced by Peter McKintosh’s wonderfully evocative set and costume designs.

Fabulous writing, wonderfully performed – and all at an affordable ticket price too. This production of Abigail’s Party is what a great night at the theatre is all about. 

Runs until 12th October

Photo credit: Mark Senior

How The Other Half Loves - Review

Theatre Royal Haymarket, London


***

Written by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Alan Strachan

Matthew Cottle and Gillian Wright

Written before he had become one of the nation's most prolific playwrights, yet as ever focusing upon his hallmark theme of domestic dysfunctionality, How The Other Half Loves is Alan Ayckbourn's 1969 effort, viewed through the prism of well-performed comedy.

Fuelled by differences in class and alongside marital infidelity that spans the social strata, the young and argumentative Teresa and Bob Philips (Tamzin Outhwaite and Jason Merrells) live modestly whilst the older Frank and Fiona Foster (Nicholas Le Prevost and Jenny Seagrove) enjoy a more privileged lifestyle. This being Ayckbourn however, Bob is having an affair with Fiona and thrown into the mix are the dull and dim Featherstones (William and Mary played by Matthew Cottle and Gillian Wright respectively) who have no idea that they’re being used as scape goats to hide the sordid carryings on. 

For the most part the book is well thought out. Mistaken suspicions are cleverly managed to comical and catastrophic results, with occasional moments of perfectly timed slapstick only enhancing the humour. But while there's much energy on display, the ending disappoints, feeling a little weak and somewhat rushed and almost doing a disservice to the preceding hilarity. The lengthy curtain drops between scene changes don't help, with the frequent halts dissipating dramatic momentum. 

Le Prevost, Wright and Cottle are all on top form. Le Prevost’s embodiment of a Blithering older gentleman with a constant misunderstanding of what’s been said to him brings the audience to its knees with roaring hilarity. He shows a believable stereotype that continues to surprise and is extremely enjoyable to watch. Wright’s Mary is shy and understated, with a masterclass performance in how to use pauses to full effect and a wonderful collaboration on stage with Cottle, who embodies a warm awkwardness on stage that one could watch for hours.

Alan Strachan's direction is choreographed to perfection with pinpoint timing and movement, delivering an Ayckbourn revival that is fun to watch and which refreshingly restores some old school charm to the theatre.

Runs until 25th June
Reviewed by Charlotte Darcy
Photo credit: Alistair Muir

Di and Viv and Rose - Review

Vaudeville Theatre, London

****

Written by Amelia Bullmore
Directed by Anna Mackmin

Tamzin Outhwaitre, Samantha Spiro and Jenna Russell

Di, Viv and Rose has finally arrived in the West End after playing two sell out stints at the Hampstead Theatre. This story of a friendship forged between between three women who meet as undergraduates worked well in the intimacy of the north London venue and it is a delight to see the show move to the Vaudeville so effectively.

Tamzin Outhwaite reprises her role as Di, the gay and sporty member of the trio and she is now joined by Samantha Spiro as eccentric academic Viv and Jenna Russell as the ditsy if somewhat nymphomaniacal Rose and we meet the unlikely friends living together during their university years. The first act is a whirl of boyfriends (Rose), girlfriends (Di), studying (Viv), all set to an invigorating backdrop of eighties music. The humour of their lives is brilliantly observed, but when one of the trio is raped, the bonds of their friendship are tested. It is a credit to Bullmore that she can swing the play's mood from comedy to nightmare with such plausible dexterity.

The seismic shift in tone continues into the second half, where the friends are now women leading very separate lives and in which set designer Paul Wills’ brightly coloured student accommodation gives way to the grey stone walls of a harsher adult world. Viv has become something of a success in New York's fashion scene and flies her two friends over (in business class, to Rose’s great delight) to attend a launch. Yet despite the passage of the years, Bullmore’s prime conceit remains that while times, fortunes and hairstyles may change, true friendship remains a constant. She also contends that whilst three may not always be a crowd, a trio does generate a central nucleus. And in Rose, Jenna Russell shines for the talented natural warmth that she brings to the part.

Offstage, Outhwaite has gone on record about this female-led production (cast, writer and director are all women), commenting that “It's beautiful, it's wholesome, it's pure. It's a wonderful thing to work on." Turns out it’s also a wonderful thing to watch. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll laugh some more. Go see for yourself.

Booking until 23rd May 2015

Guest reviewer Louisa Shulman