The stage play was first performed at the Hampstead Theatre on 18 April 1977, enjoying great success, leading to a revival over the summer of that year, which was another sellout.

[1] The television version was abridged from over two hours to 104 minutes; the record played by Beverley in the original stage production was "Light My Fire" by José Feliciano and in the TV production it was the 1976 hit "Forever and Ever" by Demis Roussos – Leigh had to replace nearly all the music with artists recorded on British labels, for copyright reasons, in case the BBC sold the play to the United States.

For the television version, the original cast reprised their roles, with the exception of Thelma Whiteley, who was replaced by Harriet Reynolds.

Little of this is disclosed during the narrative, although something of it becomes apparent when Angela steps in to care first for Sue, then the stricken Laurence, and the centre of power between the couple starts to shift noticeably.

She has also invited her neighbour Susan (Sue), divorced for three years, whose fifteen-year-old daughter Abigail is holding a party at home.

After a tirade when Beverley insists on showing off her kitsch print Wings of Love, Laurence suffers a fatal heart attack.

Laurence's accent, more non-descript and less regional, makes him sound slightly more educated, while Sue's is much nearer to Received Pronunciation.

Despite their similar background, Laurence seeks to differentiate between himself and Tony by highlighting the differences in their general level of culture, and makes a couple of condescending comments directed at him, and/or for Sue's benefit.

It also appeared in a Radio Times poll to find the top 40 greatest TV shows on British television, published in August 2003.

Writing in The Independent in 2002, David Thomson noted that Beverley's gauche storing of the beaujolais in the refrigerator had become standard practice; "the gaffe has turned suave.

Starring Jill Halfpenny as Beverley, Joe Absolom as Tony, Natalie Casey as Angela, Susannah Harker as Sue and Andy Nyman as Laurence, it subsequently transferred to Wyndham's Theatre in the West End.

[11] In March 2017, a new revival of Abigail's Party opened at the Theatre Royal Bath as a 40th anniversary production, starring Amanda Abbington as Beverley, Ciarán Owens as Tony, Charlotte Mills as Angela, Rose Keegan as Sue, and Ben Caplan as Laurence.

Another UK tour took place in 2023 under the direction of Michael Cabot, starring Rebecca Birch, Jo Castleton, Alice De-Warrenne, George Readshaw and Tom Richardson.

[12] From September 6th to October 12th 2024 Nadia Fall directed a London revival at Stratford East featuring TV stars Tamsin Outhwaite and Kevin Bishop alongside Ashna Rabheru, Omar Malik, and Pandora Colin.