Play for Today: Abigail's Party: Play for Today
9:05 pm - 11:15 pm, Friday, June 12 on Talking Pictures TV (82)
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About this Broadcast
Abigail's Party: Play for Today
Season 8, Episode 1
Comedy, written and directed by Mike Leigh, following the events of a party held in a suburban house. As the night wears on, the guests become increasingly inebriated and indiscreet, paving the way for shocking revelations and home truths. Alison Steadman, Tim Stern, John Salthouse and Janine Duvitski star
subtitles
Comedy
General
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
Alison Steadman
(Actor)
.. Beverly
Tim Stern
(Actor)
.. Laurence
John Salthouse
(Actor)
.. Tony
Janine Duvitski
(Actor)
.. Angela
Harriet Reynolds
(Actor)
.. Susan
Mike Leigh
(Writer)
More Information
Did You Know..
Alison Steadman
(Actor)
.. Beverly
Born:
August 26, 1946
in
Liverpool
Best Known For:
Abigail's Party and Gavin & Stacey.
Early-life:
Alison was born on August 26, 1946, in Liverpool, where she was raised with two older sisters by her mother Marjorie and father George, who worked for an electronics firm. She wanted to be an actress from the age of nine and later trained at the East 15 acting school. Success did not come quickly, and she worked as a secretary for the Liverpool Probation Service before making her professional debut on stage in 1968 alongside Vanessa Redgrave in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
Career:
In 1973, she made her TV debut in Mike Leigh's Hard Labour. She has also worked with Leigh on TV movies Nuts in May and Abigail's Party, and the films Life Is Sweet (1990), Secrets & Lies (1996) and Topsy-Turvy (1999). She made her movie debut in Champions (1983) and her other film credits include A Private Function (1984), Clockwise (1986), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989), Shirley Valentine (1989), Wilt (1990), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004) and Confetti (2006). She earned a new army of fans with her role as matriarch Pamela in hit BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey. Her other TV credits include The Singing Detective, Pride and Prejudice, Fat Friends, The Syndicate, Love & Marriage and Boomers.
Quote:
'I didn't become an actress because I wanted to tell people what colour my knickers were. I wanted to entertain people.'
Trivia:
Steadman won an Olivier Award in 1993 for her role in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.
Tim Stern
(Actor)
.. Laurence
John Salthouse
(Actor)
.. Tony
Janine Duvitski
(Actor)
.. Angela
Best Known For:
Waiting for God, One Foot in the Grave and Benidorm.
Early-life:
Born Christine Janine Drzewicki in Morecambe in June 1952 to an English mother and a Polish father. She moved to London to train as an actor at the East 15 Acting School. Her first TV credit was an episode of Z Cars in 1972. After finishing her training and despite being in her early 20s, she landed the role of a 13-year-old girl in the 1975 BBC play Diane. Her big break came in 1977 when Mike Leigh cast her in his stage play Abigail's Party. She went on to play the same role in an abridged TV version for the BBC.
Career:
Duvitski has worked steadily on TV in a number of shows, popping up in the likes of Citizen Smith, Minder, Cowboys, The New Statesman, Midsomer Murders, Foyle's War and Little Dorrit. Her face is better known to audiences as prudish assistant Jane in Waiting for God, Victor and Margaret's neighbour Pippa in One Foot in the Grave and swinger Jacqueline in Benidorm. She has also appeared on the big screen in Dracula (1979), Breaking Glass (1980) and The Madness of King George (1994).
Quote:
'People really do seem to believe I'm a swinger!'
Trivia:
Duvitski enjoys reading when she's not filming.
Harriet Reynolds
(Actor)
.. Susan
Mike Leigh
(Writer)
