Where is abigails party set

In the end, our native world is in our bones, like it or not — and, in truth, I do. Out of the blue, I was invited to have lunch with Michael Rudman, the artistic director of the Hampstead theatre in north London, and his general manager, David Aukin. I was preoccupied, not only with the film, but with doing up the house, as Alison and I had decided to try for our first baby.

Nevertheless, I went. Apart from anything else, I am always on for a lunch, and this was to be in an excellent Chinese joint in Belsize Park. They explained that they had a problem. But under the rules, if a theatre made such a profit, they were obliged to give it back to the funder, the Arts Council of Great Britain. I told them emphatically that it was quite out of the question. I was busy, and that was that. But these were persuasive men, and, course by Chinese course, they wore me down, and finally I agreed.

I went home. Then I suggested that Alison be in it. She hesitated. She really wanted to devote time to domesticity. But as it was to be a quick, forgettable job, she relented. It was a smash hit, the hottest ticket in town. So successful was it that Rudman and Aukin decided to revive it later in the year, over the summer. Again, it was a sellout. Now no less than seven West End managements wanted to transfer it.

But we had hit a snag. She was pregnant. Our doctor said she could do four weeks, no more. But this was plainly no use to a commercial producer. This seemingly intractable situation was suddenly solved by the inspired Margaret Matheson. Laurence, by contrast, is keen to portray himself as an art lover. He homes in on Sue, engaging her in conversation about painting, classical music and literature. Beverly and Laurence come to blows over their tastes in culture. How lovely! Leigh denies that his work is cruel or condemnatory, or that he is judgmental.

Everywhere we look, we are meant to see ourselves. During those more than four decades the broadcast version has been transferred to video, DVD and online, and there have been multiple revivals of the stage version. It remains hugely popular. There are whole stations about house make-overs and fuck knows what.

See more at IMDbPro. Photos 7. Top cast Edit. Alison Steadman Beverly as Beverly. Tim Stern Laurence as Laurence.

Janine Duvitski Angela as Angela. John Salthouse Tony as Tony. Harriet Reynolds Susan as Susan. Mike Leigh. Storyline Edit. The gathering starts off in a stiff insensitive British middle class way with people who do not know each other, until Beverly and Lawrence start sniping at each other. Add content advisory. Did you know Edit. Trivia The play got a huge audience on the Tuesday night it was screened in Quotes [Laurence puts the Shakespeare play back on the bookshelf] Laurence : Our nation's culture.

User reviews 36 Review. Top review. A jump into the Seventies.