2011 - Our House
Daily Echo review
2:32pm Tuesday 1st March 2011
OUR House is both an exuberant, affectionate love song to joys of youth and London life and a tale of the consequences of the decisions we make.
Encore Youth Theatre made the right decision with their inventive, well conceived and finely balanced production, playing up the manic energy and humour without eclipsing a surprisingly affecting morality tale.
Although it moved at a brisk pace which left the audience and players breathless, the show managed the transition between the parallel story lines with verve.
Performances were strong with some finely detailed characterisation. Joe Pickering (Joe) has matured into a commanding stage presence and brought subtle nuances to the dual role.
He was ably matched by the luminescent Lily Gilder in the role of Sarah. Rhys Shone starred in the role of Joe’s dad/narrator.
This was high octane fun.
Karen Robson
| Joe Casey | Sixteen, rough diamond but a diamond nonetheless | Joe Pickering |
| Sarah | Girl next door, slightly more middle-class background | Lilly Gilder |
| Emmo and Lewis | Joe’s best mates, loosely related to him and taken in by joe’s mum. The former is a big kid who would chase sticks if you threw them, the latter a more sensitive lad with a more exposed moral nerve | Andrew Breakwell (Lewis) Chris James (Emmo) |
| Billie and Angie | Sarah’s best mates, sharp-tongued and sassy with their eyes on a way out of their lowly social beginnings. Intolerant of males, except well-bred ones | Evie Wragg (Angie) Rhianna Ash (Billy) |
| Joe’s mum, kath | Beaten down by life but never beaten, a heart the size of a house with a huge feisty love for her family | Meredith Hughes |
| Joe’s dad | A man of fun and spirit who married the right woman but took the wrong path in life, died as a result, and is now desperate for his son not to repeat the pattern | Rhys Shone |
| Reecey | A smiling, charming, superficially likeable force of darkness | Tim Honey |
| Mister Pressman | like Reecey, except middle-aged and in control of a large company | |
| Callum | A well-bred male therefore acceptable to billie and angie as suitable marriage material for Sarah | Charlie Haywood-Smith |
| Julie | Mr Pressman’s ambitious secretary whose ambitions all revolve around Mr Pressman | Ellie Dewar |
| The Dangermen | Speciality dancers Dance Captain - Olivia Stone |
Rachel Bowler Maddie Burrough Jo Cole Holly Crompton Vicky Lampard Olivia Stone Ellie Hanson Katherine Nahajski Miranda Porter |
| The Business | Speciality dancers Dance Captain - Holly Overton |
Lizzie Bunnage Lottie Bunnage Aoife Carney-Culhane Ellie Dewar Katie Hounsham Daisy Jones Olivia Kenchington Sasha Norton Holly Overton |
| The Nutty Girls | School kids, relatives, barristers, clowns, dogs, prisoners, market traders etc | Jessica Armstrong Ellie Fox Helen Hadlington Abigail Riem Amelia Talbot-Weiss Megan Tyler-Smith Gabby Walker |
The Nutty Boys |
School kids, relatives, barristers, clowns, dogs, prisoners, market traders etc. | Victor Applebaum Charlie Dossett Toby Harper Tom Hurst Harry Kenchington Edward Morris Henry Morris Steve Peckham Ciaran Shone Harry Woods |
| ACT ONE | |
| Opening | Instrumental |
| Our House | Priest, Joe, Emmo, Lewis, Casey St. Residents |
| Simple Equation | Dad |
| My Girl | Emmo, Bad Joe, Lewis |
| Baggy Trousers | Reecey, Schoolkids, Mr Jesmond, Bad Joe |
| Embarrassment | Reecey, Billie, Angie, Emmo, Lewis, Kath, Good Joe & Company |
| Driving in My Car | Good Joe, Angie, Billie, Emmo, Lewis, Sarah |
| The Return of the Los Palmas Seven | Instrumental |
| Shut Up | Reecey, Coppers, Good Joeh |
| Tomorrow’s Just Another Day /
The Sun and the Rain |
Prisoners, Good Joe, Girls Chorus, Bad Joe, Sarah |
| ACT TWO | |
| Night Boat to Cairo | Dad |
| Wings of a Dove | Caribbean Combo, Billie, Angie & Company |
| One Better Day | Dad, Good Joe, Chorus, Kath |
| Rise and Fall | Good Joe, Chorus |
| House of Fun / Rise and Fall / My Girl | Bad Joe, Julie, Good Joe, Mr Pressman, Chorus |
| N.W. 5 | Sarah, Dad, Chorus |
| It Must Be Love | Sarah, Good Joe |
| The Sun and The Rain – Reprise | Good Joe, Bad Joe, Stallholders, Chorus |
| Primrose Hill / Our House – Reprise | Dad, Good Joe, Company |
| Finale | Company |
