It's time for my review of This House.I was absolutely thrilled to be seeing This House, as it combined two things I love, theatre and politics. I hope to someday work in either of these two fields, so seeing a play like this was wonderful. This House's strongest aspect is it's unmissable cast. They are a truly first-rate cast. The show has some weaker moments in terms of writing, but the cast were always able to carry it through. They really conveyed as to what politicians were like back in the 70's, and to be completely honest it doesn't seem like our politicians have changed that much. The way Conservative politicians are and the way Labour politicians are is portrayed extremely well. Stereotypical Conservatives are portrayed as being snobby and selfish and stereotypical Labour politicians are portrayed as being loud and foul mouthed. There was a clear divide between the two types of politicians, and once again, things haven't really changed. Cast members who stood out were (in alphabetical order); Phil Daniels as Bob Mellish, Kevin Doyle as Michael Cocks, Lauren O'Neil as Ann Taylor, Nathaniel Parker as Jack Weatherill, Steffan Rhodri as Walter Harrison and Malcom Sinclair as Humphrey Atkins. I cannot applaud this cast enough! I thought the set was very cleverly designed, it looked extremely accurate to the actual House of Commons (although being a little smaller). The costume and lighting design also greatly helped add to the effect of the show. I had not known about the minority government in the 70's, so it was excellent to be educated on this subject. I had wondered before why a majority is needed in the House of Commons, but this play has clearly highlighted certain issues for me and has expanded my politics knowledge. It has even deepened my love for politics a bit more. I did more research about the minority government and the vote of no confidence after the play and from what I read it sounds like the play was very true to life. The best part of the show is the last half an hour. In the last half an hour, the play builds up tension, has some really touching moments and has a very dramatic ending. This is when the play really shines. I wouldn't recommend this play to anyone who doesn't know nor cares about politics. I took my Mum to the show and she doesn't even vote, so as much as she loved the acting, she didn't understand the parliamentary system. For people like my Mum, who accompany friends or family but don't know much about politics, perhaps a 3 minutes video at the beginning of the play may have helped? I think this would have opened up the play to a wider audience. I felt that there were parts of the show which were weakly written, such as the beginning 20 minutes, where I wasn't sure who was who and what was going on. As I mentioned earlier though, the acting was able to carry the show through the weaker parts. The only other critique for the show I have is a nitpick, but I wasn't overly keen on the singing in the show. It just felt a little unnecessary, but this is not a major concern at all.
The featured star of This House is, drum roll please... MALCOM SINCLAIR!
Choosing featured star was extremely difficult. I made a shortlist of 4 of the actors and honestly, it would've been easier to pick straws. After much thought and consideration, I decided to choose Malcom for featured star. He was consistent throughout and gave a truly convincing portrayal as Humphrey Atkins. Furthermore, he played what a stereotypical Conservative politician acts like. He was missed whenever he was offstage and I am very glad he was cast in this role.
Now for my final verdict on This House. I give This House...
I give this rating because the show has an extremely strong cast and great creative aspects, and this makes up for the weaker parts of writing.
Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.
Join me next time when I will be reviewing The Screwtape Letters.
Thanks for reading!
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