By Erica Elliott.
Under the spotlight, newcomers and drama society members took to the stage to perform a musical theatre number, blending together music by English ska and pop band Madness and a book written by the playwright Tom Firth, in the West End Musical ‘Our House’.
In an experimental and ambitious rendition of the musical, many concepts and elements were woven into the storyline, with recurring flashbacks, a comical script, and animated characters.
‘Our House’ which was the winner of the 2003 Olivier award for ‘Best New Musical’ (original version written by playwright, Tom Firth, including music by Madness) has since gone on to tour nationally and internationally, now taking to St Pat’s stage in a musical, directed by Liam O’Keeffe and adapted by The Drama Society.
The crux of the production involves the primary character, Joe Casey, whose story is told through two different lenses. The musical follows two possible trajectories of Joe’s life, based on a decision he makes on his 16th birthday. Showcasing these branching paths to the audience in a clear and effective manner was one of the production team’s main challenges.
Paying attention to the stage’s lighting, and simple, effective cues is pivotal for a musical such as this, as it aims to portray ‘Good Joe’s’ story in contrast with ‘Bad Joe’s’ story.
Oisin O’Donnell, who acted as Joe Casey, described his reaction to the storyline as “confusing with a lot of potential”, and with over 29 changes, according to producer Aimee Donnelly, the pressure was on for the actor and stage manager Aria London to execute this.
Red and Blue lighting represented the switch between the two versions of Joe as his life unfolded, and was a clever way of providing context to the audience. The musical reaches many locations and spans the journey of the characters until they reach adulthood.
Joe’s romantic interest, Sarah, supports the production as one of its leading characters, playing on the idea of ‘the girl next door’. Sarah was played by Aisling Leahy, who brings a sense of fun, headstrung moments, and confidence to the character.
Leahy also performed a solo, for which she clearly connected with. This specifically, she said, was a particularly emotional part of the story.
“When I first read it all I could think was poor Joe. The amount of quick changes and switches between Bad to Good is insane.
I remember thinking if I thought about the storyline too much it was going to start making no sense because it feels like the whole show is just hypotheticals the whole way through, especially when the show ends back when Joe and Sarah are 16 again”, Leahy said.
Her favourite memory from the entire musical experience in ‘Our House’ was being able to do one last show with Andrea Hickey, the choreographer, as she said it felt like such “a full circle moment to end time with DCU Drama, except this time we’re running the society together side by side. It has been so special”.
Sarah Harnett, who featured in the production as part of the ensemble, said “when I finally understood that there were two Joes I thought the storyline was fantastic. The switches from Good Joe to Bad Joe are incredible”.
As the musical included many different main characters and people as a part of the ensemble, it is a particular credit to Hickey, to choreograph and fit all the people on stage.
The music from Madness blended well with the dance moves during its run, particularly whilst performing the dance number which included umbrellas. This specific clever use of the object meant O’Donnell could easily hide behind the many umbrellas as they orchestrated one of his final impressive quick changes.
Emmo and Lewis, two of Joe’s close friends who were taken in by Joe’s mum, Kath, added to the musical’s comedic timing in addition to Sarah’s friends, Billie and Angie. Their quick wit created good chemistry between the two pairs.
The songs featured in the musical added to the sense of chaos and entertainment, with the harmonies being a particular stand out moment thanks to the work done by Musical Producer Lara London, as the cast showcased their flair for musical talent. However, as in theatre, the sung-spoken quality couldn’t have been easy to those who morphed their accents into British ones to align with the story.
In an interview with the producer of the show, Donnelly spoke of the collaboration between all the members of stage management, including the technicians, actors, director and people involved in the operational roles.
“I’m so proud of everyone involved from the tech team, to backstage crew, to production and cast. Everyone gave everything and I couldn’t have asked for a better final show team”.
The musical is running for three nights from the 31st of March to the 2nd of April, taking place on DCU St. Pats campus. All tickets for the closing night have been sold.