Our House

It is always a pleasure to attend a TOPS production since the prospect of high-quality entertainment is always a certainty. When the production in question is Our House then the event becomes even more eagerly anticipated. Thanks to Ian Stark (Chairman) and Becky Silverstein (Choreographer) for the warm welcome and quick chat on arrival.

The music of Madness, one of the most popular groups of the eighties, is the format for the lively musical, Our House.  Written by Tim Firth, whose work includes Kinky Boots and Calendar Girls, the musical is based in 1980s Camden Town. It tells the story of Joe Casey, who, on the night of his sixteenth birthday, takes Sarah, the girl of his dreams, out on a date. In an effort to impress her with bravado, he breaks into a development of new apartments and all seems fine until the police suddenly arrive. At that point, Joe’s life splits into two with Good Joe staying to ‘face the music’ whilst Bad Joe flees the scene leaving Sarah to make her own escape...

TJ Lloyd is once again to be congratulated as Director. Our House was quite simply a marvellous production and had all the markings of hard work, energy and pace. The characterisations of each of the actors had been really worked on and it was plain to see everyone was having a terrific time being onstage. The entire cast had been well rehearsed, the depth and quality of talent was first-class and this non-stop production was a pleasure to watch.  

Whilst the principals enjoy ‘the limelight’, it is important to recognise the energy, commitment and quality demonstrated by the ensemble who provided excellent support and greatly added to the overall success of this production. With so many of the ensemble filling cameo roles it is impossible to credit individual performances but you were all noticed and certainly appreciated.  I thought that the character work and storytelling from the background cast was fantastic and you were fabulous to watch.

The entire cast worked well together and the whole-company numbers were full of energy, pace and enjoyment. ‘Our House’ was suitably rowdy while ‘Baggy Trousers’ and ‘Wings of a Dove’ were both great fun. The excellent use of the Union Jack umbrellas during ‘The Sun and the Rain’ greatly added to the performance.

Congratulations again to everyone at TOPS and especially those involved with Our House. Another excellent production and one that will undoubtedly be remembered for a long time!

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