Theatre
Back and better than ever Abigail’s Party, Orchard Theatre, Dartford
T
he Mike Leigh classic never goes out of fashion. Even the cringingly out-dated garb of its participants, the outmoded language and long-forgoten mores of the 1970s make it more appealing as a period piece.
Satirising and reflecting Britain’s newly- educated, aspiring and culturally aware 1970s emerging middle class, Abigail’s Party developed into the Leigh masterpiece by a series of experimental improvisations. By the time it became adapted for the BBC’s Play for Today and broadcast in November 1977, the director had just about nailed it. Te cast, which included a young Alison Steadman, carried the tortuous plot as personal tensions among the couples starts to simmer over into an all-out war.
It was a remarkable piece of work by any standards, given that it had only just debuted on stage in April that year. Te Hampstead Teatre ran 104 shows in all.
Reginald D Hunter: Facing The Beast, Hazlitt Theatre
Reginald D Hunter is celebrating his 20th anniversary as a comedian living and performing in the UK.
Born 49 years ago, the funnyman from Georgia, US, has been a mainstay on many panel shows with his trademark languid drawl and a wry sense of the absurd, as well as having a massive UK-wide fan base. Now he is on a 40 date tour of Britain and Ireland and rocking up at the Hazlit Teatre in the centre of Maidstone on April 23. His latest batch of material has been described as “highly anticipated”. Hunter’s searingly honest set has garnered him a popular fan base that spans the generations. Of course, we know him from his appearances on television have included I Got News For You and 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
But the versatility has been amply displayed in acclaimed BBC2 series, Reginald D Hunter’s Songs Of Te South, and its equally successful follow up, Reginald D Hunter’s Songs Of Te Border, both of which documented the growth of American popular song.
Probably not one to miss this spring.
Hazlitt Theatre, Earl Street, Maidstone, April 23 at 8pm. Tickets £16.50. Visit www. parkwoodtheatres.
co.uk/Hazlitt-Theatre
30 Mid Kent Living Seann Walsh: After This One, I’m Going Home, Folkestone Quarterhouse
“Charming and charismatic, a natural motor- mouth, Brighton’s Seann Walsh is the most frighteningly precocious talent to emerge from the UK comedy circuit in ages.” Tis is the description of Seann Walsh given to himself on his own website! But don’t let that put you off. Te chances are that, if you have heard of him, it is because of his (mis)adventures on Strictly Come Dancing as the bloke who split from his girlfriend for kissing his dance partner. Te Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and the self-dubbed “Lie-In King”, Walsh is a south London-born 33-year-old who has been lauded one of the best observational comics of his generation. And not just by him. Some have made comparisons to the equally dishevelled Irish comic Dylan Moran, who has been plying his trade in that scruffy, half-drunk, hopeless man-child vein for many years to great effect. He’s on at the Quarterhouse which, due to its limited size, has become the testing ground for established comics about to embark on long, ambitious tours. Seann Walsh was due to be at the venue
in the seaside town’s creative quarter last autumn but this was rescheduled due to his appearance on Strictly.
Walsh also has a penchant for acting, having notched up a debut in Comedy Central’s sitcom Big Bad World. Tis was swiſtly followed up by the lead role in Monks (BBC 1) and Sky’s silent comedy, Tree Kinds of Stupid. More recently, he wrote, produced and starred in the web series, Te Drunk. He also penned and appeared in his own Sky short for Sky Arts and is now co-starring in Jack Dee’s brand-new sitcom Bad Move (ITV 1). He recently made his feature film debut as the children’s nemesis in family film, 2:hrs. Walsh is quickly on his way to becoming one of the UK’s best comedy character actors, say some critics.
Folkestone Quarterhouse, Tontine Street, 8pm, May 25, tickets £15. Call the box office on 01303 760750
Te Orchard Teatre in Dartford is running the play, starring Jodie Prenger, Daniel Casey and Vicky Binns, 42 years aſter it first premiered in London. Te plot is familiar enough by now - Beverly and husband Laurence are throwing a party for their newlywed neighbours, Tony and Angela.
Tey are joined by a highly strung Susan who has been banished from the party of her teenage daughter Abigail, who is heard of but never seen.
Orchard Theatre, April 1-6 2019. Prices range from £20.50 to £47. Call the box office 01322 220000,
www.orchardtheatre.co.uk
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