This House - James Graham
★★★
Directed By - Jeremy Herrin
Garrick Theatre
25.02.17
This House is a play that attempts to reveal the absurd lengths to which the two main political parties will embark on to cling on to power, with retaining their majority in the house as their sole purpose. Set between the politically unstable times of 1974-79, the audience is shown both hilarious and poignant attempts made by members of the Conservative and Labour Party, to bring absent members of the house to vote after a failing in the tradition of the pairing system. The subject matter is a rich cornucopia for the dramatist and whilst covering events that took place over forty years ago, still has extraordinary relevance today. The play needed tightening in order to maintain the momentum that was otherwise lost. The impact that the ending intended to create was lessened by the play dragging in the second half. The characterization was clumsy in parts and the acting was to some extent 'wooden'. However the production did make a manful attempt to cover this tumultuous period of modern political history is such a way as to appeal to a broad audience.
★★★
Directed By - Jeremy Herrin
Garrick Theatre
25.02.17
This House is a play that attempts to reveal the absurd lengths to which the two main political parties will embark on to cling on to power, with retaining their majority in the house as their sole purpose. Set between the politically unstable times of 1974-79, the audience is shown both hilarious and poignant attempts made by members of the Conservative and Labour Party, to bring absent members of the house to vote after a failing in the tradition of the pairing system. The subject matter is a rich cornucopia for the dramatist and whilst covering events that took place over forty years ago, still has extraordinary relevance today. The play needed tightening in order to maintain the momentum that was otherwise lost. The impact that the ending intended to create was lessened by the play dragging in the second half. The characterization was clumsy in parts and the acting was to some extent 'wooden'. However the production did make a manful attempt to cover this tumultuous period of modern political history is such a way as to appeal to a broad audience.