Great Britain

Beverly wears low-cut dresses, too much make-up and has a reputation as a man-eating monster. In Mike Leigh's modem classic, Abigail's Party, she turns a social get-together between married couples into a virtual time bomb of emotional tension. Alison Steadman won two Best Actress awards for her portrayal of the bored, bitchy hostess in this savagely funny study of pretentious middle-class social manners. It also stars Tim Stern, Janine Duvitski, John Salthouse and Harriet Reynolds. 'Hugely funny'. The Listener. 'Starts as an hilarious piece of observation and lands up with shocking results'. Sunday Telegraph. 'Something of a television classic'. Daily Mirror