06 September – 12 October 2024
Stratford East

By Mike Leigh
Directed by Nadia Fall

Essex, 1977. Beverly is hosting, the alcohol is flowing, Tom Jones is on the record player and the cheese and pineapple cocktail sticks are ready to go. Queen of the castle in her suburban semi, Beverly and husband Laurence welcome new neighbours Angela and Tony round for drinks. Sue from next door is invited too but the real party is happening back at her place, as Sue’s teenage daughter Abigail can’t seem to keep the racket down. Awkward small talk quickly descends into inappropriate flirtation and marital disputes: a soiree from hell but it’d be rude to leave.

Mike Leigh’s tragicomic portrait of social class, materialism, and sexual tension in 1970s England is an unmissable modern classic.