"Our House" by LEOS Musical Theatre Company
May Hall, Long Eaton
It's no secret that, for me, this is one of the best jukebox musicals around. With the wonderful soundtrack, arranged so cleverly, and the non-preaching moralistic storyline and the energy provided by this hard-working cast and crew, there is really one option, it must be love!
"Our House" tells the story of Camden lad Joe Casey who, on his sixteenth birthday, tries to impress his new girlfriend, Sarah, by breaking into a building development. When the police turn up, Joe has to decide – run away, or face the music – a choice that will set the course of his life, and his love, forever. It is at this point that the story splits in two as we follow the fortunes, and misfortunes, of Good Joe and Bad Joe.
The two differing paths of Joe Casey’s future are carefully watched over by Joe’s deceased father, who regrets his own criminal choices that saw him neglect his family. As the parallel worlds of Good and Bad Joe Casey head towards an explosive climax, we find out which decision the 16-year-old Joe made.
An entertaining, fun storyline enhanced by the catchy tunes of the Nutty Boys, Madness.
Joe Casey is played by Matt McAuley, who is literally all over this role, sometimes even appearing on stage as both Good Joe and Bad Joe at the same time! The magic of theatre? I enjoy listening to other people in the interval and at the end and I can say that there was a lot of love for Matt as Joe, and I can understand that because, he made people love Good Joe and not dislike Bad Joe for his choices, and that's a smart way of acting and influencing the audience. Matt has some rapid changes of costume in "Our House", and just watch how quick the change is during "The Sun And The Rain" in Act Two. Another solid performance for Matthew.
Joe's deceased Dad is played by Gavin Owen, and quite a different role to playing The Tin Man in "The Wizard Of Oz", his last outing for LEOS earlier this year. The Dad can be seen as quite a sinister role, maybe because of the black suit, but he watches over Joe and tries to influence his son for the good. Loved the section where dad is manipulating Joe like a puppet, which I can't remember seeing in other productions. Gavin has a really good voice but I think the sound on his mic slightly muffled his vocals. The duet with Sarah in Act Two though was another goosebump moment and their voices blended beautifully, as did Gavin and Matt's duet on "One Better Day", one of Madness's lesser recognised and more mellow and reflective songs.
Joe's Mum, Kath, is played by the lovely Claire Collishaw, and I can't believe what it says in the programme that she has been with LEOS for 27 years! Did she join when she was three or something? Kath normally has an Irish accent, but I liked that there was no accent for Kath, it was different and there is nothing worse than a forced accent of any kind, although I'm sure that Claire would have pulled it off anyway.
Sarah is played by Emily May Corner, and the choice to pair Emily May with Matt for these roles worked really well as they compliment each other's acting skills perfectly. I love Emily May's voice and that ballad duet with Gavin is another vocal pairing from heaven.
Emmo is played by Jack David, and this is one of his first major musical theatre roles since returning to the area. He was last seen as Niko in LEOS previous production of "The Wizard Of Oz". A wonderfully fun role and he portrays this role not as "dumbed down" as I've seen some Emmos in the past, but gets it just right. Cheeky, naughty and maybe just a little naive; just right.
Lewis is played by Robert McAuley, another of the immensely talented McAuley family. As with Emmo, Lewis is a typical teenager with that typical teenager sense of humour, and Rob draws this out in his performance. There's great chemistry between the dynamic duo of Emmo and Lewis, but this pair also know right from wrong and don't always back Bad Joe's dodgier decisions. Rob never fails to deliver in his roles, and this is another wonderful part for him.
Billie is played by the lovely Ellie Simmonds. You know, I can't ever remember Ellie being anything other than marvellous on stage, and she carries on with that legacy in this sassy role as one of Sarah's besties. Normally there are two of Sarah's best friends, the other being Angie, but tonight Ellie had to go it alone as Megan Fennell who would have been playing Angie, was not well and a replacement was not used due to the sudden illness. A speedy recovery, Megan. Ellie though carried on regardless and deservedly took two bows at the curtain call. Loved the sass and attitude and the ability to put Joe, Lewis and Emmo in their place.
Reecey is played by the very talented and hard working - he never stops - Harvey Latter. Harvey really seems to embody any character he plays, making the slimy, bad news Reecey almost rodent like in character, just falling short of pantomime villain, and that maybe something to do with Harvey's vocal technique with the character. This man, Harvey, is almost chameleonic.
Mr Pressman is played by Simon Parker, the real Mr Nasty in "Our House". It's been almost three years since Simon last appeared with LEOS but he swept in, played his evil card, and left his henchmen to take the flack for his nastiness. Well, that's one option for an ending! If anyone is looking for a pantomime villain, look no further than Simon. It takes a darn good actor to make a viewer believe in them, and overheard a lady tonight say, "ooh I don't like him" as the plot to "encourage" Kath to relinquish her home was revealed. Praise enough for the actor presenting the character!
There is a minor role of Callum, who plays Sarah's fiancée in her University period, and he is played by Jude Yellop, who has a very convincing, soft Scottish accent. There is a bit of nerd comedy going off with Callum, and this was appreciated by the audience just prior to Sarah and Joe get to sing "It Must Be Love" where Sarah has some news for Joe.
A big ensemble consisting of Quillen Parker, Arden-Caspar Jennison (boy can he hoof and tap), Amy Parker, Molly Parkinson, Becky Morley, Charlie Buchanan, Nicola Adcock, Lisa Stone, Emma Collins, Mariko Jones, Grace Collishaw, Emma Weir, Chloe Brooks, Hayley Wood, Lottie Ludlow, Josie Coleman, Rachel Spence, Eleanor Harvey, Jordan Neary, Lilli White and Ali Langton. 
I was told prior to the show that Angela Walters would not be appearing in the ensemble, as last night she had an accident which put her out of action, so I wish Angela a speedy recovery, as with Megan.
Directed by Rob Chilton, and this marks his debut as a Director. This is a fast-paced show, and Rob has kept that pace going. He has also added his own touch to this show by editing some small parts out, keeping the running even tighter. I also liked the use of the four metal shelving units, used to separate sections of the stage as well as creating walls for spaces like Pressman's office and the Young Offender's quarters for Joe. Easy to move into place and operational by the cast themselves.
"Our House" is a dance heavy show, and David Page is responsible for this area. It was fun and fast, when needed, and quite balletic and poetic in the mellow moments. Props, like the umbrella section, always have that chance to show up a performer but everything prop wise went well. I also enjoyed the tap routine that is in there as well as the Star Wars light sabre section.
Musical Director is Charlotte Daniel, and I don't think I've heard a better sound emitting from Charlotte's musical ensemble, recreating that authentic ska/Madness sound.
The soundtrack for this musical contains so many massive Madness masterpieces, arranged beautifully. They include the title song, "It Must Be Love", "Embarrassment", "House Of Fun", "Night Boat To Cairo", "The Sun And The Rain", "Tomorrow's Just Another Day", the very underestimated "One Better Day", "My Girl", "Baggy Trousers", "Driving In My Car", "Wings Of A Dove" and so many more.
Sound Design is by Sean Renshaw, and in the past I've found that the sound clarity can be a bit hit and miss. well, it was tonight. Some mics were very clear, some sounded like mics weren't used and some sound cues sounded like they had been missed. i know that this show has a large cast, which may be the reason why some cues were missed. It's not an easy job getting such a large cast all sounding crystal clear and spot on. I really wished that Gavin's mic though didn't sound like he was talking and singing through a plastic bag. Could've been the mic quality or just a tweak on the sound desk. overall though the sound was good, but maybe could have been just a tad louder, maybe the audience would have laughed more at the many comedy lines that they seemed to have missed out on. Either that or it's because I have seen "Our House" so many times that I anticipated where the laughs come, and still they make me smile.
The Lighting Design is by David Price, but I'm not sure if it was David operating the lights as there were a few times that a spotlight, I am sure, should have been used as some of the cast members were left in darkness, only hearing a voice from the darkness. Apart from this, the lighting was wonderful, especially the finale which made you feel ready to party with the energy from the actors on stage and the infectiousness of the soundtrack.
These pernickety points aside, I just love this show and when the cast is as strong as this, nothing can get in the way of me enjoying this feel-good piece of theatre.
LEOS Musical theatre Group are, besides providing great entertainment on stage, also supporting The Canaan Trust, who support the homeless and those in need across the area. There will be collection buckets for you to drop any spare money you may wish to get rid of - well it only weighs your pocket down, doesn't it? An excellent evening's entertainment, supporting an excellent charity.
"Our House - The Madness Musical" is at May Hall in Long Eaton until Saturday 22 October. Make sure you make the right decision and get a ticket or three. It would be sheer madness to miss this show!
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