Originating as a Hampstead Theatre production and first broadcast as part of Play for Today, Abigail’s Party is Mike Leigh’s best-known television work, and perhaps the most celebrated TV play of the 1970s.

Abigail’s mother, Sue (Harriet Reynolds), is invited to take refuge from her teenage daughter’s party by a neighboring couple, Beverly (Alison Steadman) and Laurence (Tim Stern). They have also invited Angela (Janine Duvitski) and Tony (John Salthouse), new arrivals on the street. As Beverly plies her guests with alcohol, Sue becomes increasingly withdrawn and embarrassed by the pretentious goings-on - with marital tensions gradually revealing the cracks in the delusional facade.