Abigail's Party
Wednesday 26th February to Saturday 29th February 2020
Green Room

Synopsis

Tickets Now On Sale


Read through 25th / Auditions Wednesday 27th November 8pm at the Green Room Theatre


Beverly and her husband Laurence host a drinks party for a few neighbours in their suburban house. The guests - Angela, her husband Tony, and Sue, a divorcee whose daughter Abigail is having a rowdy party nearby - are subjected to Beverly's desire to be an exemplary hostess.
Production Team and Cast
Director Geoff Brown
Additional Info SYNOPSIS OF CHARACTERS FOR ABIGAIL’S PARTY Mike Leigh’s tragicomedy has a cast of 5. Below is a brief description of each character and an indication, for those wishing to audition, of the ‘acting age’ for that character.

Beverley (acting age 35-40) Beverley is an aspirational working-class woman who is totally preoccupied with appearances and received notions of behaviour and taste. She’s a bundle of contradictions, and espouses the idea of people freely enjoying themselves, yet endlessly bullies everybody into doing what she wrongly thinks they’ll enjoy, or what is good for them. Whilst she may be perceived as monstrous, she is in fact vulnerable, insecure and overall sad.

Laurence (acting age 35-40) The hen-pecked, workaholic husband of Beverley. Questionable whether he’s from a working-class or lower middle-class background. If you met Laurence, you might not guess, but he’s more likely to be working-class. He and his prize-catch wife are on the way up, materially successful (with a struggle), sexually and spiritually unfulfilled, and at odds about pretty much everything. Laurence yearns for the highbrow, whereas his wife just wants a good time and the goods!! Laurence dies in a dramatic scene towards the end of the play.

Angela (acting age 25-35) A newly-moved in neighbour of Beverley’s, she’s working-class, essentially honest and unpretentious. Underneath Angela’s silliness is the tough, practical reliability of a working nurse. One knows that before long she will become a responsible, loving parent, unlike Beverley and Laurence who are locked into their loveless battle forever.

Tony (acting age 25-35) Athletic in build, Tony is the husband of Angela. Like Angela, Tony has a respectable job but used to be a budding football player. At the moment he is having that classic of tough times with his new house, the mortgage, acquiring furnishings, and is relatively out of his depth in his new neighbourly role. Shyness and self-consciousness are responsible for Tony’s aggression.

Susan (acting age 35-45) Susan is middle-class, genuinely honest, but fearfully polite. She has seen better times, and is finding it difficult since splitting up with her husband and being mother to Abigail, her 15 years-old daughter (whose first party at home gives the play its title). It is patently obvious Susan doesn’t want to be at Beverley’s cosy get-together and battles her way through the evening bravely.



© Dorking DDOS, Green Room Theatre, Dorking, RH4 1SG
Web Design and Development by Simon Mathews - Please note: This website requires your browser to have JavaScript and cookies enabled to work correctly.
This site has multiple contributors and as a result DDOS cannot be held responsible for the content.

For any queries about the website please contact ddosemembers@googlemail.com