Our House - A Maelstrom of Music, Movement and Madness

It was 1982. The Young Ones had just started on the telly, Rob Muldoon was Prime Minister, the first CD player had been sold in Japan and in the UK a pop group called Madness released the hit single Our House.

Then a musical of the same name premiered in 2002, featuring the music of Madness and exploring the themes of love, family values, growing up, responsibility and dealing with losing the people that shape us.

24 years later, for the first time, Christchurch audiences now have an opportunity to see this hugely successful show, as Our House is this year’s senior joint production between Rangi Ruru Girls’ School and Christ’s College, opening in mid-May.

“It’s a modern musical full of anarchy, madness and mayhem,” says Rangi Ruru’s dance teacher and co-director Hannah Clarkson who is choreographing the significant dance component of the production.

Director David Chambers, Christ’s College’s Director of Drama, says the producers from both schools are delighted by the high calibre of the actors and the production team.

“It is a multi-talented cast headed by the two leading characters who have the triple threat quality of being able to act, sing and dance,” he says. “Rangi Ruru’s Cassie Henderson, well-known from TV’s X-Factor, plays Sarah, the lead female role and the lead male role is taken by Henry Rolleston who played the title role in the Christ’s College 2015 production of Dr Faustus.”

With a cast of over 60, Our House presents the top actors from Rangi Ruru including Ella Minehan Fitzgerald and Electra Scott (Sarah’s best mates), and Kathryn Ford (Joe’s mum), and from Christ’s College Jack Crossland (Joe’s dad), and Benji Clark, Devereux Roberts (Joe’s best mates) and Reid Edmond (Vagabond Reecy).

“We have outstanding drama students at both our schools. When we combine forces, our students are unstoppable”, says David Chambers.

“This musical is going to grab people’s attention and they will love the energy and skill of the whole team. It’s one of those productions when the final package is more than the sum of the individual elements,’’ says Hannah Clarkson.

ENDS                                   Check out www.ourhousemusical.com and follow us on Facebook

Show details:

Opens: 18 May and runs to 21 May.

Start time: 7.30pm.

Runtime: two hours plus 20 minute interval

Ticket price: Tickets are $25 General Admission, $40 premium* with no group bookings.

More info here  http://ourhousemusical.com/index.html

To book go here https://nz.patronbase.com/_RangiRuru/Productions/OURH/Performances

Phone 9833700 for ticket inquiries / email office@rangiruru.school.nz

*Premium: best seats in the house, slightly bigger