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| All pictures (c) Matthew Cawrey |
Review by: Paul Towers, 30/5/19
Our House by Tim Firth, music & lyrics by Madness
A CYC, Made At Curve production directed by Alex Sutton
Curve 30 – 31st May 2019
“funny, musical and energetic.”
When the original show premiered in London’s West End in
2002 it won an Olivier Award and has toured both nationally and internationally
since. It is an ideal show for young theatre groups like Curve’s CYC as it can have
as large a cast as you want and there are plenty of roles for good singers and
actors.
The story of the show is of
Joe Casey, a 16 year old trying to impress girlfriend Sarah. He breaks
into a building development to find something to sell but the police turn up.
Taking its inspiration from Sliding Doors, Joe’s life splits into two very
different directions. Good Joe (here played by Sam Cooper) stays and gives
himself up to the police and his life follows his father’s into prison and dead
end jobs. Bad Joe (Tom Morley in fine voice) runs away and leaves girlfriend Sarah
(Fae North) to fend for herself. On the face of it Bad Joe makes something of
himself while Good Joe languishes in the gutter. However Good and Bad turn out
not to be what you think.
There is a huge and hugely talented cast of 33 in Curve’s
studio space on a versatile set that includes an onstage band. Of course none
of the cast will have had the faintest idea who Madness were before they
started working on this show but I hope they now have an appreciation of the
musical heritage that we had in the 80’s
There are plenty of Madness songs spread throughout the
narrative and each one could almost have been written for the musical. Author
Tim Firth is responsible for Calendar Girls and Kinky Boots so it is no wonder
the show is infused with both comedy and pathos.
This is a funny, musical and energetic trip down memory lane
for those of us old enough to remember the 80’s and a musical education for millennials.
Our House is at Curve again tomorrow (Friday) with a few
seats left.
Curve – www.curveonline.co.uk
First published on Western Gazette
First published on Western Gazette
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