This House

James Graham, Nicholas Holden

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781350155534
• eBook ISBN: 9781350155558
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Letteratura
• Subtopic: Teatro

For the first time, this play - first performed in 2012 at the National Theatre - is published in the Methuen Drama Student Edition series. It features commentary & notes by Nicholas Holden, Lecturer in Drama at the University of Greenwich, UK, that help the student unpack the play's social, political and cultural context, as well as its themes, language, structure and production history. In tough times, the British do what we have always done. We muddle through. This House is a razor-sharp political comedy exploring Westminster and the 1974 British hung parliament, which provides a timely historical correlative to the current political climate. It's the play that secured the then-30-year-old James Graham's reputation as one of the UK's most important and revered dramatists, gaining critical acclaim, enjoying a sell-out run at the National Theatre's Olivier in 2013 and being revived in the West End in 2017, when it was Olivier-nominated. With well-paced, witty and waspish dialogue, it explores the childish digs and chauvinistic attitudes that have riddled political life both then and continue to do so now.

This House

This House had its world premiere at the Cottesloe Theatre on 25 September 2012. The cast and creative team were as follows:

Labour Whips
Michael Cocks	Vincent Franklin
Walter Harrison	Philip Glenister
Bob Mellish	Phil Daniels
Joe Harper	Richard Ridings
Ann Taylor	Lauren O’Neil
Tory Whips
Humphrey Atkins	Julian Wadham
Jack Weatherill	Charles Edwards
Fred Silvester	Ed Hughes
The Members’ Chorus
Clockmaker/Redditch/Nuneaton/
Peebles/Ensemble	Gunnar Cauthery
Batley/Ensemble	Christopher Godwin
Walsall N/Plymouth Sutton/
Speaker 2/Ensemble	Andrew Havill
Coventry SW/Lady Batley/
Ensemble	Helena Lymbery
Paddington S/Chelmsford/
S Ayrshire/Henley/Ensemble	Matthew Pidgeon
Speaker 1/Liverpool Edgehill/
Ensemble	Giles Taylor
Bromsgrove/Abingdon/Paisley/ Fermanagh/Ensemble	Tony Turner
Esher/Ensemble	Rupert Vansittart

When the production transferred to the Olivier Theatre on 23 February 2013, Reece Dinsdale took over from Philip Glenister and David Hounslow from Richard Ridings.

Director Jeremy Herrin

Designer Rae Smith

Lighting Designer Paule Constable

Music Stephen Warbeck

Choreographer Scott Ambler

Sound Designer Ian Dickinson

The 2016 revival of the original National Theatre production of This House was produced by Chichester Festival Theatre and opened at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, on 29 September 2016. It then transferred to the West End, produced by Nica Burns, Caro Newling for Neal Street Productions and Headlong, in association with Jonathan Church Productions, Gavin Kalin Productions and TC Beech Ltd, and opened at the Garrick Theatre, London, on 30 November 2016 with the following cast and creative team:

Labour Whips
Michael Cocks	Kevin Doyle
Walter Harrison	Steffan Rhodri
Bob Mellish	Phil Daniels
Joe Harper	David Hounslow
Ann Taylor	Lauren O’Neil
Tory Whips
Humphrey Atkins	Malcolm Sinclair
Jack Weatherill	Nathaniel Parker
Fred Silvester	Ed Hughes
The Members’ Chorus
Clockmaker/Redditch/Nuneaton/
Peebles/Ensemble	Robert Gilbert
Batley/Ensemble	Christopher Godwin
Esher/Ensemble	Peter Landi
Paddington S/Chelmsford/
S Ayrshire/Henley/Ensemble	Matthew Pidgeon
Speaker 1/West Lothian/
Ensemble	Giles Taylor
Bromsgrove/Abingdon/Paisley/
Liverpool Edge Hill/
Fermanagh/Ensemble	Tony Turner
Walsall N/Plymouth Sutton/
Speaker 2/ Ensemble	Orlando Wells
Coventry SW/Lady Batley/
Ensemble	Sarah Woodward

Director Jeremy Herrin

Designer Rae Smith

Lighting Designer Paule Constable

Music Stephen Warbeck

Choreographer Scott Ambler

Sound Designer Ian Dickinson for Autograph

Casting Director Alastair Coomer

Characters

Labour Whips

Michael Cocks , forties, Yorkshireman

Walter Harrison , fifties, Yorkshireman

Bob Mellish , fifties, Londoner

Joe Harper , fifties, Yorkshireman

Ann Taylor , twenties, Lancashire

Tory Whips

Humphrey Atkins , fifties, Berkshire

Jack Weatherill , fifties, Worcestershire

Fred Silvester , thirties, London

The roles opposite can be played either by an ensemble of actors, ranging from one extreme (one actor per MP) to the other (a small handful playing all parts). Invention is encouraged.

The Members’ Chorus

Bromsgrove

Woolwich West

Rochester and Chatham

Paddington South

Esher

Belfast West

Belfast North

Armagh

Fermanagh

Western Isles

Merioneth

Caernarfon

Peebles

Walsall North

Ilford North

Thurrock

Coventry North West

Redditch

Chelmsford

Plymouth Sutton

Abingdon

Batley

Paisley

South Ayrshire

Henley

Lowestoft

Stirlingshire West

Liverpool Edge Hill

Welwyn and Hatfield

St Helen’s

Coventry South West

Newham North East

West Lothian

Rushcliffe

Ashfield

Perry Bar

Birmingham Stechford

Mansfield

Glasgow Garscadden

The Strangers’ Gallery

Speaker

Clerk

Clo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series
• Title
• Contents
• Chronology
• Context
• Themes
• Dramatic devices
• Further exploration
• Notes
• The language of Parliament: A Glossary
• This House
• Copyright