Review: The Duck House, Nottingham Theatre Royal

The MPs’ expenses scandal left the country shocked and stunned at the bare-faced cheek of some of the claims made by elected members.
Simon Shepherd and Ben Miller in The Duck HouseSimon Shepherd and Ben Miller in The Duck House
Simon Shepherd and Ben Miller in The Duck House

Though there were few MPs who made it through the saga completely unscathed, certain claims stole the headlines.

One of these was of course the infamous duck house, claimed for by Conservative Sir Peter Viggers, which has now inspired this new comedy starring Ben Miller, of Armstrong and Miller fame.

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Miller plays Labour MP Robert Houston, who is trying to save his political career in the dying days of Gordon Brown’s Government - by switching to the Tories.

The plan seems to be working to perfection until the expenses scandal breaks and Houston suddenly realises he may have landed himself in hot water with some rather outrageous and indeed fraudulent claims.

He then proceeds to try and cover up his misdemeanours from top Tory Sir Norman Cavendish, who it turns out, also has a secret to hide.

The farce, slapstick and funny one-liners ensue.

As you would expect from a comedian of Miller’s calibre, he is outstanding throughout. He delivers his lines with great timing and just the right tone to get the audience laughing out loud again and again.

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He also somehow manages to get you on his side, despite the fact he is basically trying to hide the indefensible in order to clamber further up the greasy pole and land himself a place in the Cabinet.

There is great interplay between him and his wife Felicity (Nancy Carroll), who is the stereotypical ‘Desperate Housewife’ type of spouse.

And their illegal Russian immigrant cleaner Ludmilla (Debbie Chazen) provides even more comedy, often in the form of her right-wing views, learnt apparently from the Daily Mail.

After Miller, the star of the show however, is former Peak Practice actor Simon Shepherd, who plays Sir Norman.

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He is on the receiving end of some of the funnier slapstick comedy moments and without giving too much away, you will see him in a way you have never see him before!

For a political play, The Duck House is surprisingly apolitical and shows no political bias.

It is a satire on the modern political system and every party receives a bit of a battering, with politicians of all colours being the butt of topical jokes.

This hilarious production is heading for the West End after this tour. If you don’t catch it now, it will be well worth the trip to London.

The Duck House is on at the Theatre Royal Nottingham until Saturday.

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