23 April 2012 Last updated at 11:37 ET

Abigail's Party to transfer to Wyndham's Theatre

Former Eastenders actress Jill Halfpenny who stars as Beverly in Abigail's Party

Mike Leigh's classic play Abigail's Party is to move to Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End on 15 May.

It will replace The King's Speech, which is closing on 12 May, less than two months after its premiere.

Directed by Lindsay Posner, Abigail's Party opened at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London in March 2012.

The satire on the aspirations of the 1970s British middle class originally starred Alison Steadman as hostess from hell Beverly.

Set at a suburban dinner party, which slowly unravels, Abigail's Party was written by Mike Leigh for stage and screen in 1977 and is perhaps his best-known television work.

The current production stars former EastEnder Jill Halfpenny as Beverly Moss - a "brutal hostess with shoulders like a lifeguard and a walk to match", as Alan Bennett once opined.

Other cast members include Joe Absolom who plays Tony, Natalie Casey is Angela and Susannah Harker plays Sue.

Announcing the closure of The King's Speech last week, producers said: "At the start of this year, we believed that enough time had passed between the film and our opening. This clearly was not the case."