Ever been to an 'Abigail's party'.

[NovemberMorn]

Or a party/gathering hosted by a clone of the hostess Bev in Abigails party?

No but I want to.

Make sure to have your tea before you go.
I only ever once drank and ate lots of nuts on an empty stomach (in a club not at Bevs) and it's a recipe for throwing up.

If you ate the nuts on the bar it's probably because they were covered in poo-poo from other people's fingers.

I know that now...back then, I was young and naive.

SHE!! IS!! VOMITING!!

I read interview with some of those involved in the tv play a while ago, they were asked where they think the characters might be now. I think it was Alison Steadman herself who said she thought Bev would be divorced, no children, and managing a bar in a holiday resort in Spain which I thought was spot on.

Funny we watched it again just last night!

Enjoyed it as ever, Bev is such a character (she hid her baby bump well under that handkerchief dress). It always makes me laugh when the picture comes down, our neighbour had that on their livingroom wall and thought it very rude....

Where did you watch it?

I went to one where the hostess was nothing like Beverley, but it was slightly like the soiree in Abigail's Party in the sense of the general tremendous awkwardness and mismatched guests, and it was clear that the marriage between the hostess and her husband was extremely strained, and things did take a weird, dark and incredibly awkward turn. So although nobody put Demis Roussos on or insisted on offering us a little top-up, Sue, the level of awkwardness. odd characters and and small personal dramas playing out before our very eyes did give the whole thing a very Mike Leigh scripted feel. My DP and I still regularly talk about it almost 20 years later.

I have terrible memories of drinking on an empty stomach with only three packets of Scampi Fries to sustain me one night. Ended up throwing up all the Scampi Fries and about 10 vodka-and-limes into a washbasin. Still can't look at a Scampi Fry to this day and that was in the 90s.

Re-watched it last night - so good AND a trip down memory lane! 😁

One never forgets.😧

@Husbandrippedmeoff

It's available on Prime for about £3

Sounds a bit like the one a friend went to. 😊

It's marvellous. Always think Doon Mackichan's Cathy in "Two Doors Down" is pure Beverley. (Well worth a look if you're looking for a new comedy that you haven't seen and you like awkward but funny).

Sightseers and Two Doors Down are going on my watchlist!

no one else could have played Bev like Alison Steadman did

I’ve seen it at the theatre a couple of times - and that’s always the issue - absolutely nobody can! Such an iconic role. Radical suggestion - but I almost wonder if they need to reinterpret it completely and let someone else take on the role entirely differently? A bit like the Edith Evans Lady Bracknell; nobody can beat it so they have to try a different way.

I am always reminded of it when watching Julia Davis in Nighty Night. I did also watch a local am dram production of Abigail's party and there was a man in the audience in front of me who was definitely just a paying member of the public but who kept talking to himself in response to the dialogue, and laughing at his own wit, which I thought was hilarious and a brilliant example of the behaviours of trying to impress socially but not quite hitting the mark that the play/film is based on. I say that as someone pretty socially inept myself so no shade!

I think the nearest I went to one of these 'parties' was when a neighbour invited a few other neighbours (it was a new estate, no one knew anyone else)
She had cleared her lounge for dancing, and after a while a neighbour asked me to dance, and we shuffled round her carpet to some slowie (NOT Dennis Rousos) that was a bit uncomfortable.
Years later, happily, we are still in touch with those neighbours, so it all worked out fine.

@Husbandrippedmeoff we have it on DVD bought a very long time ago, along with Nuts in May (and the Good Life).

I always feel a bit awkward if Im at someones house for drinks etc if they come round with bowls etc with 'nibbles' in, no I dont want to pick up loads of said 'nibbles' with my hands, just let me get my own (with a spoon!)

As was mentioned before, communal nibbles are not very good for the digestive system.

I'm sure I read once that when peanuts (on a bar) were tested for traces of urine, they contained more traces than those tested from a toilet seat.

😨