STAMPS Present ‘Our House’ The Madness Musical

The STAMPS theatre group had their opening night for ‘Our House’ The Madness Musical at Birmingham’s Crescent Theatre last night. The show delighted the audience with strong lead performances and exciting ensemble numbers. This is an excellent musical which the cast clearly enjoyed bringing to life in truly entertaining style.

The story is a ‘what if’ tale concerning the life of Joe Casey. An event on his 16th birthday will point the way to how his life will turn out, depending on his choice of action. What follows is the audience witnessing events in the life of both ‘good Joe’ and ‘bad Joe’, leading to the climatic ending.

The leading cast are excellent. Dylan Norris wows as Joe, with excellent vocals and a natural talent for acting. Melanie Bateman is just lovely as Sarah, almost the moral compass of the piece. They are ably supported by Devlin Young and Robert Bateman as the brash and funny duo Emmo and Lewis, while Katie Elliot and Emily Holtom both have sass in spades as Billie and Angie.

The ‘adult’ leads are also very good. Sharon Tozer gives a warm, charismatic performance as Cath, Joe’s mom, whilst Steven Young is calm and assured as Joe’s dad. Carl Hemming is great as Reecey, the villain of the piece, and, along with Dylan Norris delivers one of my fave musical moments in ‘Shut Up’, whilst Paul Wozniak is very good as unscrupulous businessman Mr Pressman.

The supporting cast deliver with joy and verve, creating some very memorable scenes including the fabulous wedding scene for ‘Wings of a Dove’ and an energetic classroom scene for ‘Baggy Trousers’. The set and staging looks great, and having a live band on stage is a masterstroke. Robert Bateman’s direction keeps the action moving briskly – there is not a dull moment in this musical.

Our House is not a musical I have seen before, but it is a joy and well worth a viewing.

Our House, Crescent Theatre, Sheepcote Street, Birmingham until 16th Nov.

Click here for ticket information or call Box Office 0121 643 5858

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