How long has he been like this? Oh, about seventy years.

The latest in an occasional series of play reviews...

Mad House : Ambassador's Theatre

Well - this is new.  No - it really is.  Mad House - an absolutely brand spanking new play written by Theresa Rebeck and premiered in this run on 26th June.  And it's ending on Sunday, so if it sounds like something you'll like then you'll need to get a move on - but was it something I liked?

The set as you walk in is certainly impressive.

Doors, stairs, a fridge - what more could you ask for?  And on to this stage walk Daniel (Bill Pullman) and Michael (David Harbour) - a father and son with a "somewhat" difficult relationship.  Daniel is dying and Michael is home to look after him, after a spell in a "rehab facility" (aka "the nut hatch") during which his mother (who loved him much more than his father does) died.  Assisting David is Lillian (Akiya Henry), a hospice nurse from the Caribbean and the three of them kinda find a way to get by.

Which, of course, requires the introduction of someone to shake things up - Nedward (Stephen Wight) who is Daniel's other son, dropping by to see how close Daniel is to death and where the money is.  And then, towards the end of the first half, their sister Pam (Sinead Matthews) appears for exactly the same reason.

So, in the second half, the set opens as before but then rotates before our eyes

and, for most of the second half, the three siblings sit on the porch and shoot the breeze, discussing their relationships with each other and their parents.  This is the section that works best for me with some moments of stillness, humanity and breathtaking cruelty (there were audible gasps from the audience in places).  David and Michael then return for the end of the play with a brief rapprochement which has serious and lasting consequences, bringing the play to a (for me) satisfactory conclusion.

The reason I picked this to watch was unsurprisingly not the draw of the new play, but the double headed appeal of Bill Pullman and David Harbour.  Overall, they didn't disappoint - although I would say that Bill was given less to do than I was expecting and David was a bit overly shouty at times for my liking.  Of the others, Lillian is the major secondary role - Akiya does well alongside her slightly more well-known company and brings a beautiful stillness to the part.

Having said that the new play was not the draw, it was certainly more enjoyable than I was expecting - exploring some interesting concepts whilst also managing to be far more amusing than most "comedies" I've seen (although still not as funny as most of the audience gave the impression it was - what is up with theatre audiences?  Or, conversely, what is up with me?).  At times it was a bit overly hysterical for my liking - sometimes it was striving for a comedic effect that wasn't there and at other times it just felt unnecessary.  But overall, I'd say the play has an unfussy level of direction - it doesn't really occur to you that there's a lot more going on here than a load of actors just doing what comes naturally.

Considering the theatre, I don't think I'd been to the Ambassador's Theatre before - and it's a nice little spot.  I was all the way back in the back row and the view was still absolutely fine and the theatre was a nice temperature (although it probably helped that it wasn't boiling outside).

All in all, for a modern play, I enjoyed this far more than I was expecting - the leads were the draw but their presence became less important as the time went on and I was interested to see where the play was going, and the emotional and shocking moments were well done and definitely engaged the audience, who seemed to go home happy.

Closer - showing its age, unfortunately 
Walking With Ghosts - some proper acting, dah-ling!