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On the night of his 16th birthday, Joe Casey commits a petty crime in a bid to impress the girl of his dreams.
George Sampson in Our House UK Tour. Photo by Adam TriggGeorge Sampson in Our House UK Tour. Photo by Adam Trigg
George Sampson in Our House UK Tour. Photo by Adam Trigg

When the police arrive, he faces a life-changing decision: does he stay and own up like an honest man or make his escape and go on the run?

We get both answers in Our House, the Madness musical which plays Southsea’s Kings Theatre from October 30-November 4.

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Joe’s world splits in two and in a Sliding Doors moment, two very different paths unfold before him – and us.

Starring Deena Payne (Emmerdale’s Viv Hope) and George Sampson (Britain’s Got Talent), Our House delivers all the great Madness classics along the way. And for George, it’s been a delight from first to last.

“It’s a really nice show, and the music is great. The people that know the show will know what they are going to get, and the people that know Madness’ music will also know what they are going to get, but for me, what really makes it is that it is such a lovely company we have got.

“I have worked in many companies in the past, but never with a company like this. With a show like this, you usually have 25-30 people in the cast, but we have only got 16 in our company, and it means that the majority of the company are playing three parts at least. Everybody is working really, really hard, and with the Sliding Doors effect, even more so. It is such a hard-working cast.

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“It is the story of this young lad called Joe who is wanting to impress his girlfriend on his birthday, so he breaks into these flats that overlook Camden. He wants to show her the view over Camden of this old Irish estate that his great granddad built. But the police arrive, and it is about his decision whether to give himself up or to just go on the run… and you see both.

“For Joe, it’s really hard work. You get both stories so he is on the stage virtually all the time, and there are lots of quick costume changes so that you know which story you are watching. We have to make sure that it is really clear which is the good Joe and which is the bad Joe.”

George’s main role is in the bad-Joe storyline: “I play Reecey. He is the bad influence. Bad Joe is constantly nagged by Reecey to do bad things. Bad Joe gets involved in stealing property, and he has done that through Reecey. Reecey is trouble, nothing but trouble, and it is great fun to be bad, doing bad things and hoping you will get away with them!”

George also gets to play a solicitor and a photographer in the piece and also a dancer in the ensemble. The tour goes through until the end of November after which George is off to play panto in Ipswich.

The cast includes: Deena Payne as Kath Casey; Jason Kajdi as Joe Casey; and Sophie Matthew as Sarah.

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