The perils of 1970s suburbia was the setting for a superb theatrical drama with wicked wit and style presented by the Attic Players of Skelmorlie.

Abigail's Party, written by Mark Leigh was, of course, a famous BBC Play for Today of the period, which catapulted renowned actress Alison Steadman to fame as arrogant and bossy hostess Beverly.

Status symbols from the cars you drive, to your occupation, and even musical taste all came under scrutiny at a house party which started innocently enough, but soon descended into despair as the drink flowed.

Some of the scenes were unapologetically annoying, awkward, cringeworthy, even downright embarrassing, yet it was without doubt the most compulsive of viewing.

And just like the drinks, the insults kept coming!

Whether it was dealing with her own flawed marriage to beleaguered art lover Laurence, or recommending how to put on lipstick, there really was no holding back in Beverly's know-it-all attitude, and her condescending manner to her guests was jaw-dropping.

Smoothing up to neighbour Tony for a sexy dance,while everyone else squirmed, was one of the many classic scenes, and if the screams of laughter from an audience in 2016 was anything to go by, goodness knows how this was received in the 1970s!

However, Donna Laing was marvellous in the iconic role, and she certainly lived up to the persona created by Alison Steadman, and was typically bolshy as the horror hostess, while Stuart Macdougall could have come right out of an English sit-com with his hen-pecked and begrudging performance as Laurence.

The poor soul was stuck in an over-worked existence to an unappreciative wife - you could maybe argue in the end, his character managed to escape this predicament!

Alison Goldie was the nice but eternally dull Angela, complete with grating voice,and magnificently played - she also took the limelight with some hilarious scenes, including that lipstick lesson, and her dance with Laurence.

Angela's husband, the former Crystal Palace footballer Tony Cooper, was the lady's man of the show, and William Clark Ferguson, complete with goatee beard, was outstanding as the 70s groovster!

The timid and bumbling Susan Lawson was busy trying to forget about her divorce, while constantly worrying about her out of control daughter Abigail having a party next door - what could possibly go wrong?!

Karen Willey was superb in this role, with pained expressions throughout, perhaps even mirroring the audience at times in the awkwardness of the exchanges!

And Susan was on the receiving end of perhaps the most painful comment in the whole play, which didn't even come from Beverley, but Angela, who remarked that while everyone else in the room was getting married, she was getting divorced!

Attic Players satisfactorily harked back to the 70s, whether it be a vinyl record player, cigarette holders or indeed, the garish orange wallpaper on the stage.

However, there was no papering over the cracks in this eventful and memorable drama, produced by Stewart Phillips, which really was a tour de force for the Attic Players.

Production Team: Prompt - Pauline McIntosh Stage management and props - Shona Phillips; Lights - Keith Agnew and Hazel Downie; Sound - Simon Dell; Set Design: Richard Laing, Graeme Ross, Mark Allan, Keith Agnew, Mae West, Simon Dell.