Our House

“Our House” is a jukebox musical based, exclusively, on the songs from 1980’s group Madness.

Joe (Craig Nicoll) performed well in his dual role of Good Joe and Bad Joe, and was given excellent support by his girlfriend Sarah (Carley Mackie) whose singing and dialogue was a pleasure to listen to, especially in their duet “It Must Be Love”. Joe is rarely offstage, and, when he is, it is to accomplish a quick change between Good and Bad Joe. Two adult principals, Joe’s Mum (Claire Rioch) and Dad (Neil Hutton) bring young Joe’s past and present together, especially Dad, who, being deceased, watches his every move from above. Joe’s schoolmates Emmo (Wes Lorimer) and Lewis (Stuart Whyte) together with Sarah’s friends, Billie (Chloe Anderson) and Angie (Eilidh Robertson) brought the humourous side of the show to the fore, delivering all their lines with apparent ease and confidence. Each time Joe chooses the “Bad” route, another school friend Reecey (Brodie Thompson) is not far away. Reecey, like all the principals tonight, delivers well – not least of all in “Baggy Trousers”.  TADAMS chorus were, as usual on top form presenting a performance brimming with energy from the start to the very last encore. Credit must go to Director (Kris Mordente) and Musical Director (Robert Nee) who have put together a show full of life and laughs. Last, but not least, Choreographer (Darren Handy) managed to get the chorus to move especially well, bearing in mind the confines of the Blyth Hall stage.

The sound in Act One did lack balance between the band and the singers, the band overpowering on several occasions. However this was rectified in Act Two. The show was well lit by Kieran Hotchkiss, with a particularly effective scene in Vegas at the top of Act Two. A simple, two level set, with rotating three-sided columns made for smooth, quick changes between the numerous scenes.

Many thanks to TADAMS for allowing me to review your show on behalf of my colleague Roger Buist.

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