Our House

Director David Bedford clearly had the pulse of this production. Nothing was out of place, performances seemed effortless. It was clear that he had the trust of his company. Set design was cleverly engineered, faultless and well manoeuvred by his team and the cast. Your production team didn’t miss a beat! Musical Director Phil Hornsey’s excellent ‘orchestra’ rose to the occasion in delivering the delightful musical score penned by …… Madness. Great – for young and old. I can attest to that as my neighbour in the audience was around 10 years old and he was totally smitten!

‘Our House’ is quite complex, particularly if you hadn’t managed to read the really informative article in programme introduction. The show explores two possible paths that could be taken by our juvenile anti-hero, Joe Casey. His ‘good choices’ are represented by white clothes, while ‘bad choices’ are represented by black. The impact of the first chorus was memorable – energetic from the first entrance. What an impact! A magnificent physical and vocal ‘work out’! Congratulations to all involved. It certainly made me sit up and pay attention (while thinking ‘surely they can’t keep that level of energy up!’)

From start to finish Brendan Roberts was exemplary as Joe Casey, the main character. Relentlessly energetic, and effortless in transitioning from thoughtless Joe to mindful Joe, with complete ease. Totally believable in this lead role. He was backed up by his mates Robert Dunk as Lewis and Declan Mccoy as Emmo - great support they gave him. Daisy-Mae Hewett, as Sarah was ideal in her role as Joe’s love. She established her identity smoothly and convincingly. Sarah’s mates Elise Smith as Billie and Mollie Mae as Angie were good back up to her. Dad, portrayed by Nik Waller, had control of a difficult narrative part, both in acting and voice. He had good control of the role. Becky Rogers playing Joe’s Mum gave a solid performance, and Flux Loader as Reecey a nasty, slimy piece of work, and it came across as just that!! 

Choreography by Courtney Jones was energetic, fun and admirable - as anyone who likes Madness can confirm. She groomed her cast to perfection – every one of them was on point and looked to be really enjoying it! As did this evening’s audience. I wish I had half the gusto that they had!! Linda McCann’s wardrobe was excellent. Ideal for period and perfect fits. Also lighting was spot on by Daniel Richardson.

Oh yes – just a quick note to say– the energy level was maintained from start to finish…. Phew!

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