The House Party

THE HOUSE PARTY IS AN INCREDIBLE PLAY WITH A PHENOMENAL CAST

I always love a visit to HOME so when I heard about The House Party, I just had to see it. I didn’t know much about it, initially, other than it is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie, which I studied at university. Also, knowing the amazing Frantic Assembly was behind the movement for this play, I couldn’t wait to see what was in store. I was definitely not disappointed.

Written by the wonderful Laura Lomas (Metamorphoses, The Blue Woman), The House Party is about rich girl Julie (Synnøve Karlsen; Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) who is throwing a party on the eve of her 18th birthday, after her Dad lets her down. With her is her best friend, Christine (Sesley Hope; Bridgerton), and as they are getting ready, Julie finds out that Christine is actually seeing a boy they both know, Jon (Tom Lewis; Patience, Gentleman Jack). Julie also tells Christine that she thinks her dog is pregnant and that she has given it the morning after pill to try and help. What Julie doesn’t know, however, is that Christine is keeping a secret from her which will upturn their gap year plans of Thailand as Christine has an interview for Cambridge University. People start to arrive and the party gets into full swing, with Julie dancing away.

Christine, however, having not told Julie about Cambridge, hides away downstairs, looking after the dog, when Jon finds her. They discuss her interview and declare their love for each other. When speaking about when they should leave so that Jon can drive Christine to Cambridge, however, Julie overhears them, just as Jon calls her a very unsavoury name. Julie announces herself, as though she hasn’t heard anything, and tries to get Christine and Jon to drink with her. Initially, they are reluctant, until Julie wears Christine down, who drinks too much too quickly and starts to feel ill. Whilst Christine takes a moment to herself, Julie confronts Jon for the name calling and asks him whether he loves Christine, which he says he does, and then asks him if he’s ever been heartbroken. Jon admits that, when his mother was a cleaner for her family, he used to have a huge crush on her. This leads to Julie manipulating Jon into taking his wine-stained shirt off. As a result, Julie and Jon find themselves in the throws of passion on the kitchen counter, only to be disturbed by a partygoer. Mortified, Julie runs off to pack a bag and Jon is left to cry. Christine comes back and her and Jon agree to head off to Cambridge for her interview, as she doesn’t know about him and Julie, but goes off to grab her phone before they leave.

Julie comes back, with a suitcase and her dog in a bag, only for Jon to storm off, leaving Julie with the dog. She stabs the dog so it dies and hides the bag. Christine comes back with her phone, which has a recording of Jon and Julie on it, and she finds out. During their argument, Christine finds the bag with the dog in it. Unbeknownst to Christine and Jon, Julie has picked up the knife from the kitchen side and takes herself into the bathroom, in an attempt to take her own life. The play then cuts to years later. Julie is visiting Christine after ten years of them not seeing each other and they try to make amends. The play ends with Christine doing the hair of her daughter, once Julie has left for good.

The play itself was only one act, which was refreshing, with so many shows having intervals. However, I feel like if it had had an interval then it would have disrupted the pace of the piece. The set was simply incredible. You really felt like you were looking at a posh apartment, with a large sofa, huge window in the middle, and a kitchen unit that, at the end of the play, was transformed into a small kitchen of a humbler flat. It really brought the action and Julie’s privilege to life.

The wonderful cast kept the pace of the action perfectly and made it so strikingly raw and beautiful. Synnøve Karlsen as the spoiled and troubled Julie was phenomenal. Her emotion was so strong and she played the more difficult moments, especially when she was killing the dog, so well. In that particular moment, in fact, many of the audience were watching through their fingers. It was amazing. I loved the way she embodied the character from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Sesley Hope’s portrayal of Christine was simply divine. Christine was fully formed and she played the emotion and humour both equally perfectly. One of my particularly favourite moments was when Christine and Jon had been getting intimate on the sofa and a cushion was placed on his lap, as she pulled away. It was so funny. I really think that she made the play. The shift from young Christine to adult Christine was also brilliant. An air of experience and a lived life poured from her, compared to the youthful breeziness she gave as younger Christine. Tom Lewis, last but not least, made the trio complete with his role of Jon. I think that Jon was the most hated character, from the audience, due his misogynist views about Julie, however, it was played perfectly. Lewis had the audience gasping whilst he played Jon but, like the others, also played the comedy moments perfectly. His northern accent was a nice addition to the southern accents that came from Julie and Christine, especially in Manchester. My favourite moment of his was definitely when he was alone on the stage, crying and cleaning in frustration at his own actions. He really made you want to feel a little bit sorry for him, even though he had just cheated on Christine with Julie.

This play cannot be spoken about without mentioning the phenomenal movement sections from the ensemble, which was made up of: Ines Aresti, Cal Connor, Micah Crbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder, Jamie Randall and, local lad, Oliver Baines, who I actually went to sixth form with. It was wonderful to see him on the stage again. He was fantastic when we performed together at college and he is beyond phenomenal now. The movement by Frantic Assembly always adds a beautiful physical representation of the characters' feelings to anything they are involved with and this was no exception. In particular, the chaotic nature of the party scene really helped to show what was going on in Julie’s mind, without it being said.

This play is beautiful and, although challenging at moments, really is something that I will recommend to anyone who will listen to me. I laughed, nearly cried, got scared and felt my heart sore, as an audience member. It’s hard to explain the impact that this tale has had on me - it has definitely given me a lot to reflect on. However, I couldn’t feel happier that I was able to witness this incredible play. It is in residence at HOME until Saturday 29th March. Don’t miss it whilst it's in town!

WE SCORE THE HOUSE PARTY...