A Review of Dawn Productions’ This House Believes

It is rare that we get the opportunity to witness the unfolding process of the creation of a play or musical. As a director I have, of course, witnessed the entire process and as a reviewer I have found myself at dress runs. However, the performance of This House Believes was an experience unique to my OUDS journey so far. Here we were presented with the half-finished masterpiece, an opportunity for one night only to enter the minds of the team behind the story and see it in its dissected form. Thus, there were chosen scenes which were performed, while the gaps were filled through exposition from writer Theo Sergiou. The evening concluded with a Q & A which gave the audience the opportunity to learn more about the project and the aims for the musical.

This House Believes is the story of a boy from a rough, working-class area and his journey up through The Union hierarchy with hopes of reaching the top. Opening with the receiving of his offer from Oxford, the audience gets the opportunity to witness every moment of this story, rather than entering after he had discovered The Union. The themes of Francis’ story create a jarring collision, reminding us that representation is often lacking in stories about Oxford, let alone The Union. The reality of a student being from a neighbourhood of knife crime and friends dying from violence is one that is not recognised as often as it should be. Throw this character into the world of speakers, hacks and parties and watch the chaos unfold… In an attempt to find his place within this world, he sacrificed his morals, trusted more people than he should and inevitably regretted the decisions he made. There was the suggestion of elements of the plot that were left out of the showcase for the purpose of both time restrictions and simplicity, yet we gained a decent understanding of the narrative. The audience witnessed this progression in small snapshots performed by the talented Grace Olusola. The use of a single actor to play every role could have been endlessly confusing; however, the skill with which Olusola differentiated between the characters ensured that we always understood the situation and the nuances of the characters. As producer, it made perfect sense for her to fill the role in this showcase and what a multitalented woman she is. Not only is she producing this show, she also acted and sang. Yes, this is a musical about The Union – perhaps not what was to be expected, yet undeniably a success. We had the chance to see some of the raps written for the show and there is the promise that the completed project will hold yet more musical content from a variety of genres.

The Oxford Union holds that mythic status as the maker of politicians, the location of wild parties, and a web of complicated scandals. Perhaps this is a harsh view, certainly for those on the outside it is a place that holds a lot of mystery apart from when the hacks come out in force around election season. When asked whether the musical was a critique of all that the establishment represents, Sergiou replied that The Union is merely a building, arguing that in the great scheme of things it does not have as big an impact on university life as its reputation would suggest. While the story and the conflicts raised are important, what has been stressed as ultimately being most important is the link between the play and The Change Foundation. While depicting difficult stories about the things that have yet to be brought to light in theatre is important, what is more so is involving those who will already be familiar with these narratives. Theatre can change lives and the chance to work with young people to help them is the key to this production.

This House Believes was a promising showcase of a musical still very much in its workshopping phase. The team behind the show are committed to sharing the story of an underrepresented group at the university and providing a social comment about The Union, while not forgetting that this is a project serves a purpose greater than entertainment. With these admirable goals in mind, I hope that we get to see the next iteration of the musical soon. It is a powerful and well written story with so much potential, but it is hard to properly appreciate what the final product will look like. I look forward to finding out.