Truth is, I’m not a huge fan of musicals. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely respect the ability and passion of those involved in the shows, and I am partial to the odd bit of pomp and circumstance that comes with them. Largely though, the over exaggeration, emotional melodrama, and what I’ve heard referred to as the “park bench” phenomenon (i.e songs inserted about inane topics for virtually no reason), REALLY isn’t for me. However, there are exceptions to the rule. A production I saw of Matilda at Bradford Alhambra was phenomenal, but easily the best musical I’ve ever seen, is when I watched the musical Our House for the first time. Based on the music of ska-pop legends Madness, it follows the parallel lives of London teenager Joe Casey, who, in a bid to impress his girlfriend, we follow down parallel lives of crime and honour. The music is obviously brilliant, the casting, performances, and staging (at least on the DVD version) are phenomenal, and the writing, both comedic and dramatic, is top notch thanks to the talents of Tim Firth. It allows for laugh out loud gags, while the characters and situations remain thoroughly grounded and relatable, making for a very compelling narrative. It’s fantastic in every area, and certainly a far cry from the overdramatic, sparkly mush I derided earlier. Which makes the dismal reviews it received at the time seem baffling.
The whole cast of the original production, particularly leads Julia Gay and Michael Jibson (l-r) were exceptional
So, I know I love it, but I wondered whether I was alone in that. What’s the perception of the musical compared to the ‘Mamma Mia!’s and ‘Legally Blonde’s of the world? Are people falling over themselves to praise it? Or is it put down by theatre heads who see it as meagre compared to several other well-renowned productions? So, to find this out, I not only spoke to theatre fans, but also actors in previous local productions, as well as [members of the original West End cast and crew], to gauge the public perception on what makes this show so special. So, I pulled my baggy trousers up and got to work.
Firstly, as I said, it’s all well and good that I, a person with limited exposure to musicals, enjoyed it a lot, but I was anxious to see what the consensus would be among the self-identified theatre lovers of the world. So, I started by posing such a question on the Reddit community r/musicals, and the responses I got certainly confirmed that my love for this show was not just some fringe opinion, but rather, part of a widely shared reverence. While one user said they hoped the show was “more fun to be in than to watch”, and another called it, “enjoyable but forgettable”, most responses were overwhelmingly positive. Many of its best attributes in the eyes of users came in just how seamlessly the songs featured in the show fit within the broader narrative, with user u/TeamofPups putting it most succinctly when they said, “[it’s] as if they were written for the musical”, and another writing, “It’s [one of] the very few jukebox musicals that actually works.”
‘Sarah’s Song’ (0:00 – 2:05) was one of the two original songs written for the musical, and it fits seamlessly
A further tangential point made by several respondents also made note of the show’s originality and ingenuity setting it well and truly apart from a great number of conventional jukebox musicals, on both stage and screen. For example, in the ‘Mamma Mia!’ movie, it seems as though the rendition of ‘Super Trooper’ was inserted merely to fill time. Granted, the musical itself may be different, but the point still stands. Yet, with ‘Our House’, a point that many users were quick to point out, was the originality and genuine high quality of its narrative feeling much more deliberate and impactful than many others that seemed to view narrative to some degree as a begrudging requirement rather than an essential. As u/redmoleghost put it, “It’s fantastic as the plot is so much better than you’d expect”, while u/TeamOfPups again chimed in with their opinion that the show boasted, “a cracking story with bags of energy and originality.” So, it seemed to me that, to the public, ‘Our House’ as a musical was more than worthy of respect, due to writer Tim Firth’s willingness to not simply turn it into another cookie cutter production, but rather take a risk, and do something genuinely bold and creative. It’s a risk that certainly seems to have paid off in the long run. Plus, as another commenter rightly asked: “who doesn’t like an extended orchestrated version of Baggy Trousers?” Very true indeed. It seems that this musical almost inspired a kind of nostalgic enthusiasm in people. Not quite the emphatic lording of masterwork as you might get when discussing ‘Les Misérables’ or ‘Miss Saigon’, but rather a show that, while not widely discussed, when mentioned, easily brings a joyful twinkle to theatregoers’ eyes.
So, you may think that those responses would make the point well enough, but I wanted to go even deeper, go one step further into the die-hard theatre fandom, to find out not only what fans thought, but also fellow amateur and professional performers as well, and so I thought TheatreBoard was the perfect place to go. Unsurprisingly, their responses were, again, almost unanimously positive, but there were also some interesting nuances worth taking note of. There were of course, many almost identical answers to those underneath my Reddit post, with a number calling it their “favourite jukebox musical”, even “one of the best of all time”, as well as parroting the idea that “You could really believe the songs were written specifically for that story.” Most interestingly though, along with the number of more insightful, and well warranted appraisal of the backstage crew and amazing staging etc, was a trend I saw of several people that seemed to be gasping for a fully-fledged revival of the show.
With it only having 7 original stagings and 5 tour shows in over 20 years, it seems almost criminal (no pun intended) that it hasn’t had more prominent productions in recent years, with none since 2017. Many TheatreBoard respondents, it seemed, felt similarly. A number made it no mystery that a “big, decent” revival of the show would be the dream outcome. One user recounted how, “I just remember leaving the theatre on an absolute high” and said that “The petition for a revival starts here!” “It well deserves an update”, another said. While the chatters’ ideas for the possible narrative updates to the story weren’t exactly unanimous (one proposal of an updated, knife-crime centric plot was dubbed by one as “too gritty”, to which I agree), the general idea seemed a popular one, with another even playfully suggesting the return of original Joe Casey actor Michael Jibson returning as the father, in an act of fan service, which would, admittedly be a very cool detail, especially due to just how well the cast of the original West End production nailed the characters, and “brought the energy”, as one user said.
“Would love to see it back with Michael Jibson as the dad (I know it won’t happen).” – Matt on TheatreBoard (Pictured: Ian Reddington)
Interestingly, that illuminated yet another, admittedly rather sad, insight into the musical’s general perception among those in the know. The DVD version I love so much, documents the final night of that same original 2002-03 production, and if TheatreBoard users are to be believed, that was as good as it ever got, perhaps by quite some distance too, which seems somewhat of a shame. Looping back to Reddit, this unfortunate fact was alluded to again by u/TeamOfPups, where, at the end of their post they asserted that, “I thought something was lost in the [later] touring production.” The more I looked, the more prominent this critique became. In fact, nearly every TheatreBoard response I saw, caveated their posts praising the musical with this exact point. User ‘BVM’ opined that while the West End production was “superb”, “sadly the UK tour was something of a comedown after that”, while also insightfully adding, “I think there was a more recent, even cheaper tour that got cancelled.” A comment left by ‘parsley1’ was maybe the most telling, as they recalled how, “despite winning an Olivier award for best new musical, it closed after only 10 months and wasn’t a hit.” Through this lens, it makes the wishes of a revival coming from the commenters seem even more earnest, in a tragic kind of way. It was as if they saw that the musical was not given nearly the amount of care and respect it deserves, but knew, due to the strength of the original, just how fantastic it could be. Many reasons were given as to why subsequent productions may not have worked as well, including restrictions on mobile staging, and lesser cast chemistry, but I really felt that many believed if the West End gave it another go, that it would be able to receive the attention it needed to return it to its original glories. I hoped so too.
There is one element I haven’t quite touched on yet though. Despite not seeing much recent success in professional spheres, its continued popularity on the amateur dramatics circuit, as well as being a very popular choice for high school productions, just speaks to how effective and poignant the musical is, even after nearly 23 years. More to the point though, I was aware I hadn’t yet spoken to anyone who’d participated in a production. While it’s true that some of the Reddit and TheatreBoard users said they’d been in productions, none discussed it in depth. Watching it of course gives insight into many of its appeals from an outside perspective but given how involved and immersive I know musical theatre performing to be, I understood that getting an inside perspective would be crucial in gauging not only how fulfilling it was for the audience, but also, maybe most importantly, for the actors themselves.
So, I spoke to Alex Benson, a current student at BOLT Academy, where they study musical theatre, a frequent collaborator of Glusburn Youth Theatre, and who played the part of Callum in a 2018 production of ‘Our House’ at South Craven School. I asked them what made that show so great when compared to the numerous other shows they’d been in productions of over the years, and why exactly that production was such a great experience to work on, purely from a cast and crew perspective. Funnily enough, the staging, much like with the original production, they felt played a key role in making it as good as it was. “It was the first time we had a proper set”, they said. “Visually, it was by far the most advanced school production I’ve ever been a part of or seen, and that really helped with capturing the essence of the musical itself, as well as the staging working itself out.” Another key element he saw fit to draw attention to, very interestingly, was the sense of camaraderie between castmates that emerged during the making of that show. It was something, they said, they’d never experienced to that degree before: “Having people around me who I had worked with prior, and had been friends with for years, helped with settling and being able to really enjoy the rehearsal period and the performances. I really felt integrated into the rest of the cast, which doesn’t seem to happen too often.” Now obviously, as they said, pre-established friendships had a lot to do with that camaraderie, but having been involved in a production myself, albeit in a very minor capacity, it was something I caught onto as well. Who knows, maybe the very tight-knit relationships of the characters, and how, for lack of a better word, “human”, the writing is, rubs off on people a bit?
The musical’s high energy and relatable characters make it a very popular choice for high school plays. Photo credit: Prince Henry’s High School
At the end of all my research, one thing became very clear to me. That being that this musical generally deserved so much better. Subsequent professional productions, and even amateur school productions, were still able to show how creative and incredible the show is at its core, with everything it does so well, but, sadly, seems to have been dealt a bad hand, for lack of a better phrase. What perhaps speaks to its power even more is the fact that, even despite its rocky history, that original 2002 show seems to have made a seriously profound impression on a great deal of viewers, including myself. I would argue that most musicals need a good few runs under their belt before they can truly be called great. The fact that Tim Firth, Michael Jibson and co. earned it, in many’s eyes, with just one show, is a serious feat. Luckily for us, that same performance just happened to be broadcast on TV and sold, so now you can view the best performance of one of, arguably, the best musicals of the 21st century, to your heart’s content. Now that really is a living endorsement.
All images and video excluding Prince Henry’s High School image © BBC and Cambridge Theatre 2003
