Heya everyone, finally here it is my blog about The Duck House, which I saw back in January (January 25th to be precise)...OMG that's really bad, please forgive me! Anyway, The Duck House is an amazing political satire which was playing at The Vaudeville Theatre. For me it is quite strange to see a play, particularly when I'm down in London, as musicals tend to be more my cup of tea. However, I'd seen this advertised and decided to pop along as I'm rather into politics and love anything that can make a joke out of it; yes i'm an avid watcher of 'Mock the Week'! The other advantage The Duck House had was that it was starring Ben Miller, who I've always found to be really funny, so this was just a bonus in my book.
I was sat quite near the back of the stalls for seeing the show, which felt quite restricting as the overhand from the Dress Circle was very low. We'd (my mum and I) had been assured by the booth we'd brought the tickets from that they weren't restricted view so were quite shocked when we got to the seats to find how low the Dress Circle was, in addition to the fact that the tickets actually had 'Restricted View' printed on them (check your tickets before you walk away people). Nevertheless, when the show began all the action happened on the ground so we didn't really miss anything in the way of the action of the play, it just would have been nice to not feel quite so hemmed in.
The play itself had just the right level of humour and actually had some bits that made me laugh out loud...for someone who really likes comedy I'm not really your rolling round the floor laughing type of person so this is a real mark of respect to the show. The plot, as simply as possible focuses on the MP's expenses' scandal and the way MP Robert Houston and his family try to worm their way out of the trouble that they are now in by not paying for everything quite legitimately. Anyway, I won't say too much more incase the show goes on tour and I promise the show is a lot better than my description.
As for the cast they were all brilliant and worked well together with all the relationships being believable. As previously mentioned, Ben Miller led the cast as Robert Houston, the MP whose life the play focuses on. Nancy Carroll plays Houston's wife, Felicity, a very snobby and stuck up woman who believes the way to impress people is by things looking good. Debbie Chazen played the hilarious Ludmilla, the Russian housekeeper to the Houston's, with James Musgrave playing the Houston's student son, Seb, Diana Vickers playing Seb's girlfriend, Holly, and Simon Shepherd playing Tory grandee, Sir Norman Cavendish. I think all the cast have to be commend for their fabulous portrayal and quick delivery; they were what made the show so hilarious.
Overall, if comedy plays centred around politics is your idea of fun I'd definitely recommend you see this show if it ever goes on tour, and if it's not, why not give it a go anyway; you could surprise yourself. If you have any more questions about the show, or anything else musical theatre related, please comment below or tweet me at @GreenGirlsRox; I'd love to hear from you.
Love you all.
Kat
xx
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