This House (play)

This House
Written by James Graham
Date premiered September 18, 2012 (2012-09-18)
Place premiered Cottesloe Theatre
London
Original language English

This House is a play by James Graham. It received its première in the Cottesloe Theatre at the Royal National Theatre from 18 September to 1 December 2012 in a production directed by Jeremy Herrin. In February 2013 it transferred to the larger Olivier Theatre where it continued to play with much critical acclaim to packed houses until May 2013.

The show was revived at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester from 23 September to 29 October 2016 before it received its West End debut at the Garrick Theatre where it ran from 19 November 2016 to 25 February 2017.[1]

A UK tour will begin from 23 February 2018 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

It derives its title from the name given to the House of Commons by MPs. The action takes place in the period in British parliamentary history between the February 1974 general election and the 1979 vote of no confidence in the government of James Callaghan. The play is set in the Palace of Westminster mainly in the offices of the Labour and Conservative Chief Whips. Party leaders such as Ted Heath, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Jeremy Thorpe and Margaret Thatcher remain offstage characters. The narrative concentrates on the relationships between the two sets of whips (the so-called usual channels), and between the whips, their backbenchers and the members of the minor parties.

Although the play is based on real events, it is neither a documentary nor a biography, but a fictionalised account of a turbulent period in British politics. Conversations are imagined, characters have been changed, incidents added and the time line adjusted.[2]

Characters and Cast

Character Original Cast (National Theatre) Chichester and West End Cast UK Tour
Labour Whips
Bob Mellish, Labour chief whip Phil Daniels (Andrew Frame in some performances due to Daniels' bereavement[3] Phil Daniels Martin Marquez
Michael Cocks, Labour chief whip under Callaghan Vincent Franklin Kevin Doyle Tony Turner
Walter Harrison, Labour deputy chief whip Philip Glenister; (later portrayed by Reece Dinsdale when the production transferred) Steffan Rhodri James Gaddas
Ann Taylor, Labour whip Lauren O'Neil Lauren O'Neil Natalie Grady
Joe Harper, Labour whip Richard Ridings David Hounslow David Hounslow
Conservative Whips
Humphrey Atkins, Conservative chief whip Julian Wadham Malcolm Sinclair William Chubb
Jack Weatherill, Conservative deputy chief whip Charles Edwards Nathaniel Parker Matthew Pidgeon
Fred Silvester, Conservative whip Ed Hughes Ed Hughes Giles Cooper
Ensemble actors

References

  1. ↑ "This House at the Garrick Theatre | National Theatre". www.nationaltheatre.org.uk. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  2. ↑ Program, This House (Olivier Version). National Theatre. 2013.
  3. ↑ This House - WhatsOnStage.com
  4. ↑ This House London Garrick Theatre

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