Our House

THE songs of ska-pop group Madness generally fit well into this musical which was given a lively and enjoyable Australian premiere staging by the graduating Advanced Diploma in Arts (Acting) students at Hunter TAFE.

Tim Firth put together an unusual story, with the central character, Joe Casey, breaking into a new apartment building so that he can show the girl who is helping him celebrate his 16^th birthday his family’s historic adjoining London suburban house.

When the police turn up, alerted to the break and enter, Joe faces two choices: running away or staying and being arrested.

The tale shows what happens to Joe’s life over the next few years if he becomes Bad Joe and flees or Good Joe taking his punishment.

While the show won an Olivier Award for best musical when it premiered in London in 2002, it was revised in 2008 to try to make the two stories more distinct. This staging showed, however, that despite the changes Our House is still confusing at times.

But it was a fun night, with the recurring title song a toe-tapper, and lively song-and-dance numbers that included a glittering Wings of a Dove, sung at Bad Joe’s Las Vegas wedding to Sarah, the girl of his dreams, a delicate It Must Be Love, as Good Joe and Sarah finally got together, and a bright look at the world around the characters in The Sun and the Rain.

Chris Henderson was an effective Joe, bringing out the differences between the two versions of him (although having him wear a closed jacket over Bad Joe’s black shirt – Good Joe wore a white one – sometimes made it confusing as to which he was).

Samantha Lambert likewise made Sarah’s differing reactions to the two Joes believable, Isla Mayenschein and Jamahla Barron  were colourful as her best friends, and Nathan Ham and Jake Fox provided a lot of fun as Joe’s not-so-practical best mates.

There wasn’t a weak link in the 15-member cast, with most of the actors in multiple roles.

Brendon Harris had the most difficult role, as Joe’s dead father, whose own criminal behaviour has him trying to persuade Joe to follow a legal path. This linking character isn’t well written, but Harris did a good job under David Brown’s direction.

Ken Longworth  

Image: Ensemble, with Chris Henderson and Samantha Lambert forward centre.