Rehearsals began today for the first UK tour of This House, which opens at West Yorkshire Playhouse on 23 February. The cast – who play a colourful host of MPs and Whips – includes Ian Barritt, William Chubb, Giles Cooper, Stephen Critchlow, James Gaddas, Natalie Grady, Ian Houghton, David Hounslow and Marcus Hutton. Tony Turner and Orlando Wells return to This House having previously appeared in the West End production.
James Graham’s critically acclaimed and prescient political drama takes on a new importance in the current political climate. Are we in the midst of a political revolution? Can the country stay united? Roll back to 1974… The corridors of Westminster ring with the sound of infighting and back biting as Britain’s political parties’ battle to change the future of the nation, whatever it takes.
In an era of chaos, both hilarious and shocking, when votes are won or lost by one, there are fist fights in the parliamentary bars, high-stakes tricks and games are played, and sick MPs are carried through the lobby to register their crucial votes as the government hangs by a thread. This House strips politics down to the practical realities of those behind the scenes; the whips who roll up their sleeves and on occasion bend the rules to shepherd and coerce a diverse chorus of MPs within the Mother of all Parliaments.
Directed by Jeremy Herrin with Jonathan O’Boyle, the production is designed by Rae Smith with lighting design by Paule Constable and Ben Pickersgill on tour, music by Stephen Warbeck, choreography by Scott Ambler and sound by Ian Dickinson.
