Theatre Reviews: A Good House; An Interrogation
Tension in the Downstairs Theatres
We’re up to date and the shows I am reviewing are still available to see this time.
The uplifting cheer of the Christmas period is over and theatres are back to staging tense, challenging shows. Worth noting that I saw both of these while they were still in their first two days of previews so your experience may differ!
A Good House - Royal Court, Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Written by Amy Jephta (she/her)
Directed by Nancy Medina (she/her)
1 hour 40 minutes
Let me set the scene. The Royal Court has two stages: a small black box theatre in the attic, and a more traditional auditorium as the main stage downstairs. A Good House is on in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs near the bar and the much-missed bookshop. The Royal Court is recently under new management and is embracing its roots as a theatre for new writing.
The new writing on the main stage right now is A Good House, a tense social satire about a gated community in South Africa. The heart of the play is a Black couple (Mimî M Khayisa and Sifiso Mazibuko) who have just moved into this predominantly white neighbourhood populated by two other couples (Kai Luke Brummer, Olivia Darnely, Robyn Rainsford, and Scott Sparrow). While the individual households try to keep to themselves, the community is brought together against a common enemy when a shack appears in an empty plot overnight and starts to slowly expand.
One thing I love about theatre is the ability to have metaphors play out literally on stage without it feeling awkward or contrived as it might on film. Here we have a literal shack growing out of the ground and sitting in the periphery of events at all times. At once an innocuous little structure, and at the same time a physical manifestation of the racism, classism, gentrification, and self-flagellation that runs underneath every line of dialogue spoken and unspoken.
And what dialogue this play has! As the three couples interact in different combinations and in different homes, the duality of each individual is laid bare. The opening scene alone tells us so much in the way the characters talk over each other to fill the silences and then how painful those silences feel when left unfilled. The play is made up of little more than conversations in living rooms but uses these polite chats to paint clear portraits of the three couples and the residents-only idyll they have bought into.
I heartily recommend A Good House. It had me squirming in my seat at times, but as the subtext rapidly became the text, I could not tear my eyes away. While the subject matter might sound heavy the play has fun with its premise and you’ll be able to laugh the occasional tension away without undermining the overall impact.
Seat: Stalls, F6 - £15
On Mondays, all seats are £15 and can only be booked on the day of performance. Members can book in advance, and I am a member so was completely spoiled with an excellent seat in the stalls for the price of two London drinks. One of my armrests was a bit limp, but for this price, I'll put up with anything.
Show: ★★★★☆
Seat: ★★★★★
Also worth mentioning that you can buy the playtext for just £5, making a Monday trip to the Royal Court a bargain of a cultural night out.
An Interrogation - Hampstead Theatre, Downstairs
Written and Directed by Jamie Armitage
65 minutes
The Hampstead Theatre also has two stages, but, to keep you on your toes, their upstairs stage is the main auditorium and downstairs in their basement is a more adaptable black box theatre space. The area outside the downstairs theatre is normally a good place to read a book, doomscroll, or just hide from the chaos of the upstairs foyer.
Down in the basement for the next month is An Interrogation, a compact thriller that has transferred after a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe last summer. A woman has gone missing, and D. C. Ruth Palmer (Rosie Sheehy) has brought a local businessman (Jamie Ballard) in for questioning. Nice and simple.
In the adaptable space of the downstairs theatre, a picture-perfect recreation of an interrogation room fills the stage, complete with grubby walls and patchy carpeting. The performances are also naturalistic enough that, if I squinted and blocked out the 50 or so other audience members, I could easily convince myself I was sitting in the room with them. The only distracting bit of staging was the camera filming the action from different angles and projecting it onto the back wall – a device that came into its own once but otherwise disrupted the immersion.
I wanted to enjoy An Interrogation more than I did. The premise is promising and works to a degree as the innocuous questioning becomes more pointed, and the affable subject becomes increasingly suspect, but the tension never climaxes, and the interrogation itself is far from forensic.
The play's short running time is both its strength and weakness. An Interrogation is lean and unfussy, allowing the audience to lean in and pay attention to a screw slowly tightening as a suspect is verbally backed into a corner. Unfortunately, within an hour, that screw has a few turns to go before it is fully secure, and the ending felt rushed and unearned.
While not my favourite play of the year so far, An Interrogation is well performed, convincingly staged, and will have you home before the shops shut.
Seat: Stalls, G5 - £10
There are only eight rows, so while I was almost on the back row, I was also very close and had a completely unobstructed view. Seating downstairs is in the form of cramped benches, but nobody was sitting to my right, so once the lights went down, I shuffled along so I wasn't touching my seat neighbours. The downstairs is snug, but the prices are low and the programmes are free.
Show: ★★★☆☆
Seat: ★★★★★