By Cal
Link: https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/spring_2021/all_your_houses
Available until: 30th April
All Your Houses is the first (or at least the first we’ve watched) in a series of free events from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Judging from this performance, the standard is extremely high. Having seen some of their previous performances, I’m actually not very surprised.
The title is a well-known quote from Romeo & Juliet, but it’s actually a misquote (though not all editions of Shakespeare’s plays are identical so perhaps there are some that say ‘All Your Houses’). The actual quote is ‘both your houses’. Actually, the whole line is misquoted – it’s supposed to be ‘a plague o’ both your houses’, but many people say ‘a pox on all your houses’.
But the misquote seems far more apt than the original where this play is concerned. The play is set during a plague of sorts: a certain pandemic we’ve all heard a lot about, when everyone is in their houses, rather than meeting in person as they usually would. Also, the play involves a significant event which is unusual enough to capture the characters’ attention and imagination, and important enough to be included in a special annual memorial they hold for a friend who has died – and it affects all of them. It probably affects all their houses too. Some of the scenes are set so far in the past, all their houses probably don’t exist.
At the start of the play, fourteen young people meet to remember a girl called Billy. They are all connected with her in some way. Every year, they meet to remember her. Usually, they go out, but this year, it’s being done on Zoom.
But this time, it isn’t just Billy’s night. It’s also the night when a comet is going to be seen for the first time in their lifetime. These meetings have a clear schedule, which the very organised Jess is attempting to follow, but the comet matters to all of them too. They probably will see it again as it usually appears once every forty years, but this time, it’s five years early.
The meeting begins as usual, but then something happens. The characters disappear and then reappear as historical figures, presumably in years when the comet was seen. Such varied figures as JM Barrie, Mohammed Ali, Amelia Earhart and Medusa all have a role to play in All Your Houses.
As a play, there are too many characters and it’s
difficult to remember who they all are and their connection to Billy. As a
piece to showcase fourteen talented students, it’s perfect. The actors get to
play two contrasting characters in two completely different situations with
distinct dramatic challenges and they smash every single role.
Rosie Gray and the Company are credited with
writing the text. The Zoom scene gives each person a clear personality and the
monologues for the other characters are powerful and very interesting, teaching
you something about the characters but also showing them as a bit more than a selection
of people who are famous for something. Barrel Organ direct, making the Zoom
scene flow smoothly and naturally, and giving the actors the props and costumes
to bring their characters even more vividly to life. The non-Zoom section is a
series of monologues, making it very suitable for lockdown theatre, as well as
a medium which has become very popular over the last year.
Conor McLeod and Grace Cooper Milton have stood out
in previous Guildhall plays and they’re once more on top form here. Conor is
moving and emotional both as Shaun, his original character, and as artist Feliz
Ganzalez Tores. Grace is excellent as the scatty, anxious Maya and a
surprisingly vulnerable Medusa.
The many other talented students include Dan Wolff
and Noah Marullo, who show themselves to be accomplished in music as well as
acting. Who knew that Dido’s ‘When I Am Laid in Earth’ from Dido and Aeneas
would suit a male voice so well? (While we’re on the subject, this play has an
incredible soundtrack, some of it well-known and some composed by Charlie Yang
for this production.)
Isla Lee is an intelligent Amelia Earheart, and Aoife
Gaston is a knowledgeable and compassionate Claire Gaston. Hassan Najib plays
the laid back Jay and intense Mohammed Ali. Nia is the very organised Jess and
a regal Catherine the Great. (I actually didn’t know about Catherine and the
horse till she mentioned it. Then, a couple of hours later, I read a book which
mentioned the exact same event.) Sam Thorpe-Spinks, Kitty Hawthorne, Millie
Smith, Justice Ritchie, Dolly Webb and Levi Brown complete a stunning cast.
A really incredible and thought-provoking play with
some really exciting talents.
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