The Assembled Parties – Hampstead Theatre

Last Updated on November 12, 2025

Family comedy-drama with strong female leads

The Assembled Parties follows the travails of a Jewish family living in New York’s Upper West Side over a twenty-year arc from 1980 to 2000. Written by Richard Greenberg, it premiered on Broadway in 2013 and is now having its UK premiere at Hampstead Theatre. Directed by Blanch McIntyre (The Invention of Love, Letters to Max), the play unites on stage US actor Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) and UK star Tracy Anne Oberman (The Merchant of Venice 1936). Julie Bascov (Westfeldt) is a former Jewish movie star who throws lavish Christmas parties with her husband Ben (Daniel Abelson) in their capacious Central Park West apartment. Faye (Oberman) is her troubled sister-in-law. The drama centres on two visits: one during the women’s peak in 1980, and the other in 2000, at an older stage of their lives. The first party is attended by Julie and Ben’s son, Scott, who is touted by his father as a future U.S. president. He brings along his Harvard friend, Jeff (Sam Marks), who is dazzled by the family. Twenty years later, he returns to the 2000 Christmas party to find that all is not as it once was.

Both women are married and keep up pretences of contented relationships, but the love between Julie and Faye feels genuine. Faye had been a favourite child of her mother, now close to death, but after she fell pregnant as a student and dropped out of university, she encountered the conditional nature of her mother’s love. This rejection has weighed heavily on her life. Julie is warm, empathetic, and a consummate cook whose love language is feeding her family. She is contrasted with her depressed sister-in-law, but she feels less in touch with reality at times. 

Love and loss are two sides of a coin, which the play explores with humour and sensitivity. Billed as a comedy-drama, The Assembled Parties is packed with hilarious one-liners but is less engaging as a drama. There isn’t enough drama or plot to hold one’s attention, and I didn’t feel I cared much about any of the characters. There has been a tragic loss between the first act of The Assembled Parties and the second; many of the characters are now absent, but there is no depth of exploration about what has happened to them. Strangely, the absence of three of the male characters mattered less than it would have if the female characters were gone. The two husbands were rather two-dimensional with no development, whereas the female leads had all the good lines and personality. Oberman inhabited the part of Faye and put in a five-star performance. She is a wonderful storyteller, and her character has all the best tales to tell. A neurotic and anxious woman, swallowing Valium in the first act – ‘water is just a garnish’ she quips. In the second act, she has evolved into a woman in command of her life, with obvious emotional growth. The character of Julie reminded me of Blanche DuBois, ethereal and otherworldly, believing that all will be well despite evidence to the contrary. She is childlike and is infantilised by Julie and Jeff, who, despite knowing it is disrespectful, secretly pay money into her bank account to support her lifestyle. She put in a strong performance despite her high-pitched delivery.

The Assembled Parties situates itself in the political and cultural context of 1980 and 2000. There are references to the election of Reagan and Bush and to the AIDS epidemic, but these themes are not explored in any depth. Instead, we are left with a family whose issues are hard to feel much concern for.

James Cotterill’s set brings the Manhattan apartment to life with a rotating stage moving from the kitchen to living room, bedroom and dining room. Sian Harris dressed the female parts in gorgeous outfits.

The Assembled Parties is a mixed bag, with excellent female leads who are well-written. The male characters are less impressive and less well drawn by the playwright. Strong on comedy and weaker on drama, the play is worth seeing for Oberman’s performance alone.

The Assembled Parties runs at Hampstead Theatre from 17 October to 22 November 2025.

Hampstead Theatre,
Eton Avenue,
Swiss Cottage,
London
NW3 3EU

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