Our House

Set in 1980s Camden Town, Our House with a script by playwright Tim Firth and music by Madness, tells the story of London lad Joe Casey, who takes Sarah, out on a date on the night of his sixteenth birthday. Hoping to impress her, he breaks into a building site owned by property developer Mr Pressman. When the police arrive, Joe faces a tough decision—and in a moment reminiscent of Sliding Doors, the show then explores the consequences of the two possible decisions, one where Joe stays to face the music, and the other where Joe runs away, seeing how his life would unfold in each circumstance, and the very different futures that result from a single choice.

This musical has quite mature themes for a youth group with such a wide age range, but I felt the topics were handled very well, and sensitively, with the cast showing maturity throughout.

As we entered the theatre, we found ourselves surrounded by groups of loud teenagers, so convincingly in character that I overheard an audience member saying they were initially irritated by the disruptive behaviour—until they realised it was all part of the pre-show setup.

The set design was a very detailed depiction of Casey Street, with multiple doors and windows of the brick houses in the street, provided a variety of entrances and exits.  A 2nd level upstage provided a raised Juliet balcony, with a backdrop providing an overview of a London building site. Next to this was the band, which we discovered were elevated on this higher level and hidden for act 1 behind a concertina flat (and not underneath the stage as expected!). We saw them briefly for the Entr’acte and the Finale – though I wasn’t completely sure why the concertina flat didn’t remain open for rest of the 2nd half, as they seemed to be having the time of their lives!  The car was brilliant fun and worked really well and you all coped really well with it getting a little stuck when you brought it out for a second time at the end.

In general, the lighting worked well and enhanced the production. There was a good use of colour and haze to create interesting effects. You made the good use of the mirror ball and the projected bar-effects for the prison scene was really effective. I loved the low-level smoke for bringing the Gondola on at the start of Act 2 – brilliant! The back lit windows and doors, changed from red to blue to depict the different character arcs of the story between Good and Bad Joe worked really well.

The downwards smoke ‘jet’ effect was impressive and quite startling. Initially it seemed to signify the arrival of the ghost of Joe’s Dad but later on it seemed to be used for the shift from Good to Bad Joe. It was probably a little overused to me and quite noisy!

The microphone cueing was on the whole well managed, a few blips on occasion for some of the minor characters with a few lines but didn’t detract too much from the performance.  Sound balance was very good overall between the band, principals and chorus.

The direction was very slick throughout, managing those transitions between each arc of the story can’t have been easy. I don’t say this often, but sometimes I felt that the pace was a little rushed throughout. We lost some of the dialogue as a result. However, this didn’t detract from our enjoyment.

The 6-piece band made a great sound playing the well-known Madness songs and seemed to be having a great time playing these numbers. The Fez’s (what’s the plural of Fez??) a nice touch.  The balance with the vocals was good throughout. The cast produced a great ensemble sound.

Costumes, Hair and Make-up were all in keeping with the time period and the settings. The use of Red and Blue to depict the 2 different arcs worked well.

The choreography was very high energy and performed with enthusiasm. Be careful with the transitions into the dance breaks, there were moments when the cast appeared to be waiting to start the dance sections. Aim for a seamless transition to and from dialogue/vocals into the dance. I loved how the choreography was staged to allow each member of the group their moment to shine.

In reviewing the Principal Characters:

Joe Casey: This is an incredibly difficult role, and you managed it expertly. Those quick costume changes would be a challenge for the most experienced adult performer so well done. Your vocals and acting were fantastic throughout.

Sarah: Lovely, strong performance with some great vocals. You seemed to be so focussed and concentrating so hard that a further step for the future would be perhaps a little more light and shade in some of your facial expressions. I loved your rendition and duet of NW5 – it was a real show highlight for me.

Dad: A really strong presence on the stage throughout, you continually responded to the action on stage even being in the background. Great job.

Kath: A suitably emotional performance throughout. Just be careful not to rush the dialogue too much and keep the diction clear with the Irish accent. There was a lovely maternal quality, bringing warmth to the role.

Lewis and Emmo: A lovely comedy duo, and you tackled these roles designed for much older actors with maturity. You got the comedy lines spot on. The audience clearly enjoyed your performances.

Angie and Billie: Another great partnership - you both performed with great confidence.

Reecey: you played the petty crook with confidence and conviction, with an element of sleaze which added to the portrayal.

There were some thoroughly enjoyable cameo performances from other members of the cast, each clearly putting in a great deal of effort to bring their moments to life. The ensemble was bursting with energy from the very beginning and maintained that throughout the whole show.

Congratulations to everyone involved, it was a very enjoyable evening. I also heard some lovely comments from the audience as I left, so well done.

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