This House
by James Graham

West End

This House Book Cover — This House Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

120 mins 1970s Unit Set/Multiple Settings Period Costumes

Awards & Recognition

Olivier Award

Nominee: Two 2013 Olivier Awards, including Best New Play

Synopsis

The year is 1974. A hung parliament in the UK faces economic crisis and an uncertain future.

Set in the engine rooms of Westminster, James Graham’s play strips politics down to the practical, behind-the-scenes realities of the whips who roll up their sleeves – and occasionally bend the rules – to pass legislation.

In a time when an unusual number of politicians die, margins are so slim that even sick and frail MPs must be carried through the lobby to register their vote.

As whips on both sides use every trick in the book to win votes, the Mother of all Parliaments creaks under its own idiosyncrasies and arcane traditions.

In May 2019, This House was voted Play of the Decade in Bloomsbury Publishing’s “60 Years of Modern Plays” public vote.

Press Reviews

"Dazzlingly intelligent, scrupulously well-researched and funny… gives a moving and witty insight into British politics."
— Independent

"Thrilling… In recording the struggle of the Labour government of 1974-79 to simply survive, the play offers a fascinating slice of history… Graham brilliantly captures the daily machinations of politics."
— Michael Billington, The Guardian

"This House, James Graham’s magnificently sharp and witty look at the struggles of the 1974-9 Labour government, is masterful all over again… Both a treat and a triumph, this is a superlative night out in the West End."
— Evening Standard

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
MICHAEL COCKS 40s, Yorkshireman	—	40s	40s, Yorkshireman
WALTER HARRISON 50s, Yorkshireman	—	50s	50s, Yorkshireman
BOB MELLISH 50s, Londoner	—	50s	50s, Londoner
JOE HARPER 50s, Lancashire	—	50s	50s, Lancashire
ANN TAYLOR 20s, Lancashire	—	20s	20s, Lancashire
HUMPHREY ATKINS 50s, Berkshire	—	50s	50s, Berkshire
JACK WEATHERILL 50s, Worcestershire	—	50s	50s, Worcestershire
FRED SILVESTER 30s, London	—	30s	30s, London
BROMSGROVE, WOOLWICH WEST, ROCHESTER & CHATHAM, PADDINGTON SOUTH, ESHER, BELFAST WEST, BELFAST NORTH, ARMAGH, FERMANAGH, WESTERN ISLES, MERIONETH, CAERNARFON, PEEBLES, WALSALL NORTH, ILFORD NORTH, THURROCK, COVENTRY NORTH WEST , REDDITCH, CHELMSFORD , PLYMOUTH SUTTON, ABINGDON, BATLEY, PAISLEY, SOUTH AYRSHIRE, HENLEY, LOWESTOFT, STIRLINGSHIRE WEST, LIVERPOOL EDGE HILL, WELWYN & HATFIELD, ST HELEN’S, COVENTRY SOUTH WEST, WEST LOTHIAN, RUSHCLIFFE, ASHFIELD, PERRY BAR BIRMINGHAM STETCHFORD, NUNEATON	—	—	—
SPEAKER, CLERK, CLOCKMAKER, TELLER, SERJEANT AT ARMS, LADY BATLEY, PARAMEDIC, BARBER	female	—	—