Post by duncan on Mar 31, 2018 8:50:59 GMT
12 - This House - Festival Theatre - 30th March
1974-79, a Labour government with a small majority - the whips office must try everything to ensure that they have the votes to be able to pass their legislation. Meanwhile the opposition whips are trying to ensure that they win votes and bring down the government. Over the course of the parliament the dead will walk, arms will be twisted, a clock will break and maybe just maybe someone on each side will actually have some principles.
A thoroughly entertaining play - and that's it. Real people doing real things. Plenty of black comedy running through the show and a host of in-jokes for those who are aware of the political landscape of the late 70s.
It doesn't need the band or the Bowie numbers and to differentiate the characters they are playing some of the supporting cast are shall we say playing to the gallery.
The biggest issue with the evening was that the sound was atrocious. I was in Row C, which is the sixth row, and the actors didn't appear mic'd so it was disappointing that a lot of the dialogue from the leads was muffled and at times inaudible. Nicholas Lumley is playing 15th or so fiddle as various MPs and mainly as the Colonel and as the Colonel is an OTT caricature we can hear everything he says but when the leads were talking in their offices some of the dialogue was gone. I was wondering if it is because the Festival is a bigger house than they are used to.
7/10 - mark off for the poor sound.
1974-79, a Labour government with a small majority - the whips office must try everything to ensure that they have the votes to be able to pass their legislation. Meanwhile the opposition whips are trying to ensure that they win votes and bring down the government. Over the course of the parliament the dead will walk, arms will be twisted, a clock will break and maybe just maybe someone on each side will actually have some principles.
A thoroughly entertaining play - and that's it. Real people doing real things. Plenty of black comedy running through the show and a host of in-jokes for those who are aware of the political landscape of the late 70s.
It doesn't need the band or the Bowie numbers and to differentiate the characters they are playing some of the supporting cast are shall we say playing to the gallery.
The biggest issue with the evening was that the sound was atrocious. I was in Row C, which is the sixth row, and the actors didn't appear mic'd so it was disappointing that a lot of the dialogue from the leads was muffled and at times inaudible. Nicholas Lumley is playing 15th or so fiddle as various MPs and mainly as the Colonel and as the Colonel is an OTT caricature we can hear everything he says but when the leads were talking in their offices some of the dialogue was gone. I was wondering if it is because the Festival is a bigger house than they are used to.
7/10 - mark off for the poor sound.