Our House 2010, DerbyTheatre
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Below is a review in the Derby Evening Telegraph by Zena Hawley:

Fans of musicals will like this one and followers of 80s ska group Madness will adore it.

Our House is a frenzy of energy and joyous enthusiasm from beginning to end which infects the audience as well as the cast.

Derby Opera Company have taken the 2002 show and turned it into a delightful musical and acting feast for everyone to enjoy.

A near capacity audience – what a delight to see that at Derby Theatre – clapped, cheered and sang their way through hit after hit.

Baggy Trousers, Driving in My Car, House of Fun, It Must Be Love – they were all there, and more.

There were stand-out performances all round from the cast but worthy of mention were Jamie Clarricoates in the lead role of Joe Casey, ably supported by love interest Chloe Harris as Sarah.

Comic turns of the night came from several quarters but were most notable from Emmo and Lewis, played respectively by Elliot Nelson and Matt Clay.

And not to be outdone, there were laugh-out-loud performances from Charlie Orme as Billie and Megan Gibson as Angie.

For the plot, imagine the film Sliding Doors, where the main character's life is seen from the "what if I had done that" point of view and what difference it would have made. Joe Casey is forced to take stock of his life from a decision-making moment – giving us an insight into "good" Joe and "bad" Joe.

His long-lost father, played by Howard Nelson, is along for the ride as an almost constant ghostly presence on the stage at each step in his life. But it is mum Kath – Lorna Kirkland – who is truly Joe's harbour in a storm, and who he adores.

Months of rehearsal have clearly gone into producing a spot-on performance and credit is due to everyone for only having a few days to get it right in the theatre.

Eye-catching props and scenery were moved around with consummate ease to create street, university, office and church scenes.

Watch out in particular for the car ride scene. An old-fashioned static car against a movie background. Simple but very effective.

It was inevitable that the night would end in a standing ovation. Such devotion and zeal demanded nothing less.