The Duck House, Vaudeville - theatre review

Uncomplicated humour abounds in this new pacy play by Dan Patterson and Colin Swash
27 December 2013

The Duck House is a farcical romp. As satire, this pacy new play by veteran TV writers Dan Patterson and Colin Swash doesn't really have much bite, but there’s plenty of uncomplicated humour.

It’s 2009 and Robert Houston (Ben Miller) is an MP in the process of defecting from Labour to the Tories. He’s a vain buffoon with a pretentious wife, a son who is hooked on online gambling, and a Russian cleaner called Ludmilla who seems far more sharp-witted than her employers and appears determined to embarrass them.

The investigation into MPs’ dubious expenses obliges Houston to host Sir Norman Cavendish, a starchy fellow politico. As Houston panics and tries to hide the spoils of his greed, he creates only havoc. This involves a mix of the improbable and the predictable: there are panda suits, an excellent joke about acupuncture, accidents with glue, lost trousers, and some high-risk manoeuvres with Camembert and a copy of the Lisbon Treaty.

The results are relentlessly daft, and Terry Johnson’s direction ensures a steady flow of laughs. Miller often calls to mind John Cleese, with his perfect timing and manic movements. Nancy Carroll adds a touch of elegance as Houston’s wife (although it’s a role that hardly tests this sublime performer), while Debbie Chazen milks the brazen awfulness of Ludmilla.

James Musgrave, who plays Houston’s son Seb, is adept at looking both bored and bewildered, even when his girlfriend (a game Diana Vickers) is scooting around in the skimpiest of outfits. Meanwhile Simon Shepherd is at the centre of some especially cringe-inducing moments as the smooth yet compromised Cavendish, who behind his austere exterior isn’t what he seems.

Though a few scenes are riotous, overall there’s not quite enough here to ravish audiences. In the world of contemporary politics, truth is stranger than fiction - and funnier too. Yet if The Duck House isn’t a Christmas cracker, for those in search of ribald seasonal entertainment it should fit the bill.

Until March 29 (0845 505 8500, vaudeville-theatre.co.uk)

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