Posted on Friday the 9th of April, 2010 at 2:05:17 .
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Our House is a musical with music and lyrics from Madness and the book by Tim Firth. The show featured songs from the ska/pop band Madness, and was named after one of their popular hit singles, "Our House". The story is of Joe, who becomes involved in petty crime and follows different directions in his life in London. Numbers include: Baggy Trousers, It Must Be Love, Our House, House of Fun
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Watch out for more details, but for now - synopsis of the show:
Joe Casey who, on the night of his sixteenth birthday, takes the girl of his dreams, out on their first date. To impress her with bravado, he breaks into a building site overlooking his home. The police turn up, at which point Joe’s life splits into two: the Good Joe, who stays to help, and Bad Joe, who flees.
Good Joe is sent to a ‘correctional facility’ for two years. On his release, he convinces himself that he is an embarrassment to all who care about him – especially Sarah, whose new college lifestyle reading law is complicated by Callum. In an effort to keep up with this guy, Good Joe is beguiled by his ‘mate’ into helping stage a break-in, gets caught and is sent down.
Meanwhile, Bad Joe has lost Sarah, but is making a success, using his breaking and entering skills to install security systems which he then instructs a lowlife ‘mate’ called Reecey how to breach. His efforts soon earn him enough money to start his own business in property development. Now a successful businessman, he is able to swan back into Sarah’s life, literally sweeping her off her feet at her college dance.
Three years later, at 21, Bad Joe and Sarah get married in Vegas, while Good Joe is leaving prison.. At this point, Good Joe and Bad Joe’s worlds start to collide. Mister Pressman has decided to ‘redevelop’ Camden by demolishing Casey Street – except Joe’s mum Kath refuses to leave. This house is special, she says, given to her family in perpetuity because their ancestors helped build Casey Street.
Good Joe vows to save the house. He calls on Sarah, now a trainee lawyer engaged to Callum, to help prove that Kath does own the deeds to 25 Casey Street. Bad Joe, meanwhile, is called on by Mister Pressman to help destroy the house in a strong arm final straw tactic to get the occupant to move out. Bad Joe does this by arranging – with Reecey’s help - for the house to be burned down while she is out celebrating her birthday. Except tragically all Kath wants to do is wait in the house for her son to come visit her on that special day. In the Good Joe story, the errant son returns, holding the property deeds, to find the house burning down but his mum safe; in the Bad Joe story the ‘successful’ son returns too late, to realise his mum was in there, waiting for him.
From the ashes of the house fire Good Joe is reborn, reunited with Sarah, who he marries, and also with his mum. Mister Pressman and Reecey are sent down for arson. Bad Joe, having lost Sarah and his mum, is sent down as an accomplice to manslaughter. And in the final beat of the show we wind b