A lively and upbeat morality tale, Our House is a musical that harnesses the music of the 80s ska band Madness and some of the social issues of Thatcher’s Britain. Injustices, unscrupulous developers and crime are aired in an over complex plot which director Kevin Gaunlett did his best to clarify.
It was a calm and windless afternoon at the open air Minack Theatre at Porthcurno high above the cliffs in Cornwall so voices carried. But on another day it could be windy so having mic’d up actors would help the audience catch the dialogue. The downside is the hormogenisation of the actors’ voices which tends to make most of the voices to sound the same.
A strong performance from Chris Backway as Joe Casey who fatefully falls into the hands of the law on a night out with his girl friend Sarah (Thalia Selbey) after he breaks into a property to show off launches the morality play. It’s a story of how making one of two choices – the right or the wrong one – creates a life changing decision for Joe.
Kim McEvoy’s choreography made the most of the largely youthful cast of Mitre Theatre of Croydon with some terrific set pieces as the hits of Madness brought an energy to Welcome to the House of Fun, Baggy Trousers, Driving in my Car and It Must Be Love and others.
Enjoyable and as always the real star was the Greek-style theatron-theatre itself with its views of the sea – which was packed out with barely a stone seat to spare.
Harry Mottram
The show continues to 20th August, 2021.
For details for the work of the journalist Harry Mottram visit www.harrymottram.co.uk and follow him on all social media sites.
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