To what extent Abigail's Party a naturalistic play

‘Abigail’s Party’ written by Mike Leigh was first performed in 1977. The play appears to have no obvious plot and is set in Lawrence and Beverly’s house. The play opens as Beverly prepares for a drinks party for their neighbours. A married couple, Angela and Tony, are invited, as is Susan. Susan’s daughter Abigail is holding her first teenage party where Susan would not be welcome.

As the play progresses tensions increase, particularly between Beverly and Lawrence until at the climax of the play Lawrence has a fatal heart attack.

Naturalism is drama devised and presented on the basis that the action is to be believed as if it was something that was really happening. Kanstantin Stanislavski was the first to publish theories on naturalism in 1870s. He developed the fourth wall theory where the actors have no interactions with the audience but simply act to each other. This was a sharp contrast to the popular melodrama at that time where the audience were willing participants.

Lee Strasberg developed Stanislavski’s theories in 1940s at The Actors’ Studio in New York. He pioneered method acting ‘ a system of training and rehearsal for actors which bases a performance upon inner emotional experience’ (www. spartacus. schoolnet. co.

uk). Lee Strasberg stated that ‘work for the actor lies in two areas: the ability to constantly create reality and the ability to express that reality’. When scripting Mike Leigh uses a period of improvisation therefore ‘Abigail’s Party’ is expected to be naturalistic.

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By breaking down different elements of the play it is easier to see exactly why the play can be called naturalistic. Although the characters are naturalistic sometimes they may be hard to believe.

The characters may appear exaggerated in that Angela is so nai?? ve and Beverly aspires to a higher class yet shallow. Nothing happens that is impossible. Some people may say that Beverly is unbelievable but everyone ‘acts’ when they are ‘playing’ the hostess. However, Beverly’s character is even more worrying because not only does she act around others but she also acts to herself. At the beginning of the play although she is alone she acts as if she is a hostess.

As Ray Carney says she is validating herself to her self. (Ray Carney’s The Films of Mike Leigh: embracing the World). She has to do this to convince herself that she really is high class and a good hostess. At times Beverly appears to be just a collection of clichi?? s and a complete stereotype. However, a stereotype is simply someone that seems familiar or has been seen before many times but this does not make her any less believable.

The characters are playing a social extension of themselves including aspects of their personality that the audience can relate to which is why they appear naturalistic. It can be assumed that each character in ‘Abigail’s Party’ is in fact playing a role at the party. Each of them is behaving as they feel they are expected to at such an occasion and this is different to their normal character. A glimpse of their normal characters is seen at the end when Lawrence collapses and Angela takes control and slips into her role of a nurse. It is hinted that Tony can be short tempered but he appears to be very quiet and takes no active part.

He appears to be uncomfortable and contributes only the absolute minimum. His temper and his ability to take action are seen when he shouts at Beverly to turn the music down. Tony and Lawrence appear to be able to see through the characters everyone else is playing but cannot do anything about it because they are not united. They view each other as rivals. Beverly is actively flirting with Tony whilst Lawrence tries to establish himself as Tony’s superior.

The audience can see how insignificant this small talk is and this provides the comic element. The setting of the play is another area that is naturalistic. The play takes place on the ground floor of a house in the suburbs of London on a spring evening in the 1970s. All of this information can be gathered from the set and conversation. Most of the characters are drinking gin and tonic, which had become a fashionable drink in the 70s.

Cheap package holidays had become readily available and Majorca was a popular destination. Angela reveals that her house cost i?? 22,000 and this confirms that time period. Another clue that the play is set in the 1970s comes from the cars they talk about. Tony says he has an Escort, which was the popular everyday car of that time. Lawrence drives a Mini which a more stylish car in the 1970s.

The final aspect, which distinguishes the play as being in the 70s, is the sexism. Whilst the characters are discussing cars Angela reveals that Tony will not let her drive. This is another detail that makes the makes the play naturalistic. The set and choice of music add to the atmosphere of 70s naturalism. Naturalism is also obvious in the staging.

‘Abigail’s Party’ was written to be performed on a proscenium arch stage, as it is most naturalistic. A proscenium arch stage allows the decoration of three walls and furnished as if it were a real house. This uses the theory of naturalism as developed by Kanstantin Stanislavski and the audience assumes there is a fourth wall. This is an impenetrable wall between the stage and audience. This means the audience merely observes the play and the actors are acting to each other and never to the audience.

This creates a naturalistic play. The only aspect of staging that could be considered to be slightly false is the way all the furniture is placed for easy visibility through the ‘fourth wall’. However, in most houses the furniture in the living room is centred round the television so that if we assume that the television would separate the stage and audience then it becomes more naturalistic again. Even so all the acting takes place in a 180i?? arc whereas life would normally take place in 360i??. However, as this is a play the actors cannot talk with their backs to the audience without speaking especially loud, which would detract from the naturalism.

The structure of the play is also naturalistic. In Aristotle’s book ‘The Poetics’ he states that there are three unities that must be observed in order for a play to be believable. The first of these is that the play should take place in ‘Real Time’. This means that whatever time period is supposed to have taken place on the stage it must have actually elapsed. The second of these is that there should be only one location.

The whole story should take place in the same place. This avoids any unbelievable moving of sets and therefore makes the play much more naturalistic. The third point is that that there should be only one story line. This not only means that there will be no scene changes but also the audience will not have to stretch their imagination to follow two or more story-lines. All of these points are supposed to make a play more believable and therefore more naturalistic.

All of these points are observed in ‘Abigail’s Party’. The themes throughout ‘Abigail’s Party’ are mundane and everyday. They relate to most people’s personal experiences, which is why they are naturalistic. One theme is marriage and it can be seen how the relationship between Beverly and Lawrence is full of tension. They annoy each other all evening as Beverly’s attempt to be a competent, glamorous hostess is obviously irritating Lawrence.

For example when Lawrence wants a sandwich or olives or to put on classical music Beverly always opposes him and actually calls him a ‘ boring little bugger’. Beverly also says that Lawrence is ‘very good with money. I mean if I want a new dress, make-up, have my hair done, whatever it is the money is there. But, apart from that it’s just boring… ‘ This provides the audience with insight to their marriage and Beverly’s boredom. Susan’s problems with marriage are also discussed in the play.

Through Angela’s lack of tact the audience becomes aware that the private character of Susan is divorced. The audience empathises with Susan and at the same time is embarrassed by Angela and this provides more comedy. Another theme that runs throughout the play is that of regret and dissatisfaction. Lawrence voices his regret of not learning to play a musical instrument and Beverly states how she is not satisfied with her marriage. Although Tony does not express his dissatisfaction himself, through his flirting with Beverly and Angela commenting he usually turns over, his dissatisfaction can be sensed.

Angela also talks about the dissatisfaction she has in her relationship with Tony. She says he is ‘quick-tempered’ and says he is not sympathetic when she is feeling ill. Susan is similar to Tony because she does not voice her dissatisfaction but unlike Tony she does not have a partner to provide the clues. Her dissatisfaction is shown by her reluctance to discuss her private life. The final area where naturalism is present is the rare qualities that ‘Abigail’s Party’ possesses.

There is no obvious plot in the play and this makes it more believable because everyday life does not have a dramatic or particularly entertaining plot. Even the climatic moment of Lawrence’s heart attack is followed by a mundane ending and this mirrors real life. . If it was not a naturalistic play the heart attack would be used to make a dramatic climax but it is more realistic as it is attempting to represent a view of real life. Overall it can be said that ‘Abigail’s Party’ is naturalistic. There is no plot and the entertainment comes from the observations of daily life.

People cannot watch themselves when they are entertaining but if they could then it would possibly have the same cringing result. ‘Abigail’s Party’ captures the difference between people’s ‘entertaining’ selves and ‘normal’ selves perfectly. It focuses on how drama can occur in the most normal circumstances. The play may not be entirely and completely believable in places. Lawrence’s heart attack to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony could be unbelievable but heart attacks are an everyday risk and can occur at any time.

Angela had warned earlier in the play that people with heart problems are businessmen with highly stressful jobs. The fact he dies to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony may seem corny but was his choice of music and he was extremely stressed. Also Tony may seem hard to believe because all he does is reply in monosyllables when spoken to but his wife is behaving foolishly and he really does not want to be there. This makes his antisocial attitudes less surprising. In general although some parts may initially seem unbelievable but considered within the scenario most of these aspects appear much more believable.

Therefore ‘Abigail’s Party’ is a naturalistic play in virtually every aspect.