Our House

Madness were at their peak during my teenage years - I clearly remember getting the picture disc single of Our House back in 1982 – so it was with a keen sense of anticipation that I rocked up at the Swan Theatre for WODS’ production of Our House, a musical based around their music.  It was my first time seeing this show, and I was not to be disappointed!

Our House follows the story of young Joe Casey, who makes a split-second decision to either stay or run one night whilst trespassing with his girlfriend Sarah on a building site.  From that point onwards, we follow the different paths of ‘Good Joe’ (who stays and faces the – rather harsh, I must say – penalty) and ‘Bad Joe’, who goes on to make a series of increasingly poor decisions with ultimately tragic consequences.  It’s an interesting premise – shades of Sliding Doors – although it doesn’t quite stand up to scrutiny (Sarah runs away too but doesn’t seem to face any consequences for doing so, and the ultimate fate of ‘Bad Joe’ rests not on one choice but many).  Nevertheless, the plot provides plenty of material for the talented young cast to chew on, and they do so with great skill and vigour.

I remember seeing Elliot Kainey in a supporting role in WODS’ production of Kipps earlier this year.  Here, as Joe Casey, he graduates to a leading role with flying colours.  Clearly delineating the two versions of Joe, and barely off the stage, he kept up his energy, characterisation and performance all the way through.  I liked that ‘Bad Joe’ was not reduced to a one-dimensional character, remaining believable throughout.  All this was achieved whilst completing a bewildering number of costume changes – I particularly liked the switch at the end of the first half.  It really was a bravura performance – he must have been absolutely knackered by the end! 

Charlotte Hasnip (who I also saw previously in the very different role of Pinocchio!) also did well as Sarah, the woman whose life was entwined with that of both Joes.  This was a tricky role that required a strong emotional connection to both Joe and the audience, and Charlotte carried it off admirably.  She had a sweet singing voice that was used to good effect, particularly in the second half numbers N.W.5 and a nice ‘It Must be Love’ duet with Joe. 

Very good support was provided by Joe’s comic relief sidekicks Dan Hooper and Henry Walters (as Lewis and Emmo respectively); and Sarah’s friends Billie and Angie (Maria Stafford and Eloise Tyler.)  Whilst these characters were portrayed in pretty much the same way regardless of which Joe we were watching, the performers brought out their different perspectives and approaches to the Joe in question.  Similarly, Joe Millward was effective as Reecey, the bad influence who leads one of the Joes down what turns out to be a very dark path indeed.

Playing the role of Joe’s dad (or at least his spirit), Dean Bayliss provided a calm and confident centre to the show.  I enjoyed his interludes – a bit like a cross between a Greek chorus and Dexter’s dad in the TV show – which were very well performed and linked the scenes effectively.  Alongside him, Judy Hooper as Joe’s mum Kath provided a good level of emotional intensity and had a good chemistry with Elliot.  A word too for Paul Blower, impressive in his first role for WODS as the dastardly Mr Pressman.

Supporting the principals was a very committed ensemble of twenty-four, all of whom made their contribution to generating a great atmosphere on stage.  Their singing and dancing was of a high quality, and I’d like to congratulate them all. 

There was a great energy to this show, a real effervescence to the performances which was infectious.  However, I did feel that things became a little too strident, with lines often being delivered at maximum volume (maybe the orchestra were a little too loud – it sounded as if the performers were striving to be heard at times).  Perhaps a bit more light and shade could have been achieved – when this did happen (for example during Sarah’s songs in the second half), it worked very well. 

The choreography, as I am now coming to expect from WODS, was of a very high standard, with five or six knockout numbers featuring the whole company.  I particularly enjoyed the opening ‘Our House’ and school-set ‘Baggy Trousers’ (which perhaps got closest to replicating the anarchic stylings of the original Madness).  ‘Driving in my Car’ made clever use of wheeled stools and torches to replicate the car in question, and the concluding medley brought the house down.  Congratulations to the choreography team and the whole cast.

The show was well directed by Chris Love, utilising a primarily open stage with a section of scaffolding at the rear to provide some variation in height.  This was also well used to allow characters to observe the action downstage, and for the pivotal scene where Joe and Sarah break in to the building site.  A word for the backstage costume team, who quite apart from clothing the large cast in 80s period gear, performed superhuman feats in transforming ‘Good Joe’ to ‘Bad Joe’, often in double quick time.  Clever use of an overall-type costume for ‘Good Joe’ facilitated this, but I imagine that the wings must have been like a Formula 1 pit stop at times!

Good as this show was, I did have some issues with the lighting, the level of which was quite low in general.  I accept that this may have been a directorial decision, but there were also quite a few occasions where principal singers or dancers were not illuminated at all.  This detracted from the experience for me.  Having said that, the deliberate silhouette effect in ‘Just Another Day’ worked well (because there was a purpose to the darkness), and Joe’s dad benefitted from excellent spotlighting whenever he appeared.

Hearty congratulations are due to everyone at WODS for this production – it was clear from the deafening (and I do mean deafening) cheers and applause at the end of the show that it was an undoubted hit!  My thanks for the very warm welcome, and I look forward to seeing you in 2023 for The Sound of Music.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.