,%20Adeel%20Akhtar%20(Angad)%20and%20Shelley%20Conn%20(Malicka)%20in%20The%20Estate%20at%20the%20National%20Theatre.%20Photographer%20Helen%20Murray_245.jpg)
First, there was Yes, Minister's gentle spoofing of the governing class. Then, this was followed by The Thick of It - a wonderfully savage satire of our leaders and their minions. At its outset, Shaan Sahota's The Estate appears to continue that waspish and witty legacy of political exposés. However, this devastating peek at what happens behind the closed doors of Westminster, and at what goes on in the families and schools which foster the ruling elite, while certainly as amusing as its predecessors, is considerably more pessimistic. The protagonist, Angad, is a South Asian politician from an immigrant background who after attending elite schools and marrying into wealth is now on the brink of becoming the PM. He spins the story of his humble beginnings so that he appears to be a man of the people who can relate to the problems of the underclass. The truth - that his father was a brutal, misogynistic slumlord who abused both his tenants and his family - is only gradually revealed as the real influence which motivates his upwardly mobile son. It is when dealing with the patriarch's unequal division of his estate, however, that Angad comes to terms with his real inheritance from his father: the ability to act ruthlessly in his treatment of all who come between him and the achievement of his ambitions. Playwright Sahota creates a fascinating character who slowly emerges as an amoral monster. This play, which begins with a nice comic energy, gradually takes us into the dark places of Angad's psyche and ultimately creates a character more reminiscent of Shakespeare's Richard III, than of Jim Hacker or even Malcolm Tucker. Sahota's work is nicely interpreted by a strong cast led by Adeel Akhtar whose fits of "hay fever" almost mirror Richard's bouts of rage and paranoia. Chloe Lamford's brilliant set neatly reflects the early division between Angad's inner and outer worlds, the political and the familial realms, and the show cleverly ends with the projected image of the calculating politician, contrasting it with the unsettling depiction of a cooing new father. We now know that these two personae are one and the same. The astute maturity and psychological depth of this work make it almost difficult to believe that it is Sahota's first play. While standing on its own as an intriguing work, The Estate is also an outstanding addition to a long lineage of political literature!
Rated: ★★★★★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo Helen Murray
When, Where, Getting there:
,%20Adeel%20Akhtar%20(Angad)%20and%20Shelley%20Conn%20(Malicka)%20in%20The%20Estate%20at%20the%20National%20Theatre.%20Photographer%20Helen%20Murray_245.jpg)
%20and%20Clive%20Owen%20(Alfie)%20in%20End%20at%20the%20National%20Theatre.%20Photographer%20Marc%20Brenner%2003422.jpg)
%20Criterion%20Theatre%20Tristram%20Kenton.jpg)
%20Johan%20Persson.jpg)
