Theatre Royal Bath

Until Saturday, April 28

THE memories are indelible. Who can forget orange-clad Beverley sashaying around to Demis Roussos while poor old Laurence gasps his last as he finds the 70s really do make him ill?

Is it worth while reviving Mike Leigh’s classic TV drama of 1977? Why not leave it in the archive with the recipe for pilchard curry and mock Tudor houses?

If you enjoy sneering at this tawdry decade, I’d recommend Lindsay Posner’s sharp new production as way of making a link with our own time. Its poignant message is relevant for every decade, for though styles may change, the quiet desperation of the English is much the same.

Jill Halfpenny shines as Beverley, clad in slinky lime green. This suburban nightmare hostess comes across as callous and crass and peculiarly 2012 in her values, or lack of them. She and her dim neighbour Angela (Natalie Casey) are ‘not violent, just nasty’... and boring.

As long-suffering husband Lawrence, Andy Nyman’s barely controlled rage is poignant as well as funny.

The second half of the play, when the Bacardi-fuelled angst reaches a crescendo, was cleverly paced to make us aware of the emptiness of trying to enjoy oneself.

A superb play which deserves this intelligent and respectful revival in 2012.