At the start we assume this is normal and don’t think anything of it.
Development: The plot/characters develop, and the play continues and unfolds, revealing the characters for who they really are. The tension is built up which is an important element of Abigail’s Party.
As the play continues, new situations arise, the plot deepens to reveal that Beverly & Laurence actually don’t get along very well, and we start to see signs that their marriage is failing. The tension increases between the characters and we see more disagreements between the couple. They argue more and criticise each other more, they argue about trivial things, the play starts to hint that there is boredom in their marriage, especially with Beverly, who starts flirting with her guest Tony, who is married to Angela. This frustrates Laurence, so Beverly carries on to annoy him, she makes comments like: “sexier isn’t it”, (referring to men with beards, like Tony, unlike men with moustache’s like Laurence) this shows that Beverly is openly criticising her husband in the presence of her guests, showing that Beverly is dominant over Laurence. Laurence gets heartburn, which Beverly picks up on “Darling, have you got heartburn again?” this shows Beverly knows him well, and we also see Laurence’s frustration with it, as he denies that he has heartburn when Beverly asks, “No I haven’t… just a light case of indigestion”.
Resolution: The play deepens further; all loose ends tie together, leading to a denouement.
As the play comes to an end, Beverly and Laurence’s arguments become worse, they become angrier and they deliver sharper criticisms. They argue over an erotic painting, which Beverly wants to show her guests, but this aggravates Laurence as he finds it inappropriate “ Laurence: that’s cheap pornographic trash! Bev: Laurence, just because a picture happens to be erotic, doesn’t mean it’s pornographic.”. After this the tension is at its highest “ Laurence: Beverly don’t bring that picture downstairs! Bev: oh, sod off Laurence! … Drop dead!” and it all leads to Laurence’s sudden and dramatic heart attack. During the heart attack we notice that Beverly still loves and cares for Laurence and is very worried about her husband “what’s going on? What’s the matter with him? Laurence! … has he passed out? Laurence! … go and get him a glass of water, quickly, please. Laurence, some on, you’re all right come on, Laurence, Laurence!” we also see that Beverly blames herself for his heart attack, showing that she feels guilty how she has treated him, “it’s my fault, isn’t it? I know it is, Ang. But I didn’t mean to upset him tonight…”. However Beverly is still making an effort to please her guests while offering drinks and snacks “Sue do you want a little drop of brandy? Tone? Ang, d’you want a little drop of brandy?”, as an audience I find this very odd that Beverly’s character still cares about her reputation even when her husband could die.
SUBPLOT The sub plots are: Angela & Tony, Sue, Abigail & her party, the social class and taste.
Angela & Tony:
Angela and Tony’s relationship helps highlight the tension between characters and also the failure of Beverly and Laurence’s marriage. They are inferior to Beverly and Laurence when it comes to money; class; status; jobs and fashion, this creates contrast between the two relationships “Bev: Oh that’s a bit grim, isn’t it, furnished flat? Yeah”. Beverly puts Ang down by talking about negative things to do with Ang and Tone, e.g. their old flat, their bed that hasn’t arrived, trying to embarrass her and make her feel like she isn’t as good as Beverly “It’s disgraceful. I mean, you’ve been sleeping on the floor…”. During the play, Beverly flirts with Tony; Tony lets this happen which helps wind up Lawrence “Bev: fancy a little dance Tone? Tony: perhaps Laurence would like to dance? Bev: no I don’t think he would actually. Come on tone – have a little dance go on.”
Sue:
We see that sue is an unhappy character, we find her boring and she highlights the eccentricness of Beverly and the stupidness of Angela. Sue is culturally similar to Laurence as they have the same tase (literature, music, art), which helps Laurence show off, also both Sue and Laurence like olives, which helps Laurence prove his point as he had argued with Beverly about the olives. Sue’s character is very reserved, she is sensible and formal, which emphasises the ridiculousness of the other characters. Sue seems to be very uncomfortable throughout the play, which suggests awkwardness, and it may suggest that Beverly is a bad hostess. We get the impression that Sue feels pressured by Beverly as when she tries to reject Beverly’s offer of a “top up” to her drink she still seems to have more and more to drink. Sue’s character set’s a contrast between Beverly and Laurence, and Sue’s life, in the way of culture, personality, way of life etc.
Abigail:
Although Abigail is only talked about in the play, and is not seen, her character is threatening towards Beverly, causing Bev to be jealous that a 15 year old is having a big party, and Bev isn’t, creating a sense of competitiveness. Also Abigail’s party is the reason sue was invited.
Angela Trupia
