We take a look at what is being said about Shaan Sahota’s play, running at the National Theatre until the 23rd August.
Broadway World: *** “But the cast are formidable. Adeel Akhtar’s puppy-dog eyes melt the heart, even as he schemes in the shadows. Angad’s waspish cruelty repels, yet we can’t help but root for him. It’s a quietly tantalising performance thriving off Sahota’s discreet tragi-comic sensibility. In Daniel Raggett’s sharp direction subtle touches dissolve tension and hint at the silliness beneath it all. By the end every character feels just a heartbeat away from a histrionic fistfight. That’s politics for you.”
WhatsOnStage: **** “It’s uneven, yet relentlessly arresting. Sahota must be commended for her ambition here – the landing may not be perfect, but the sequence of flourishes certainly wows.”
London Theatre.co.uk: **** “Daniel Raggett’s production plays largely for laughs, and rightly so, given there are plenty on offer (many provided by Ker’s lofty, self-proclaimed “Maharajah of spin”). But there are some nice stylistic touches, notably the ghostly appearances, Hamlet-like, of Angad’s father, and a fourth-wall-breaking finale at the party conference. It all plays out on Chloe Lamford’s sumptuous set, which captures the opulence of everything from the Singh family home to the gurdwara setting of the funeral scene.”
London Theatre 1: **** “As is usual at the National Theatre, the production values are very high, with Chloe Lamford’s set design in particular ably establishing each scene in its time and place, whether it’s a front room, an office, or the main stage at a political party’s annual conference. This isn’t the sort of play that challenges the populist idea that parliamentarians are ‘all the same’. No matter. It’s entertaining, engaging and energetic.”
The Independent: *** “Shaan Sahota’s chewy first play examines the dynamics in a south Asian-British family following the death of their patriarch.”
The Standard: **** “The bantz between Isaac and his ruthlessly pragmatic posho colleague Petra (Helena Wilson) could come straight from The Thick of It. Ker is very funny as the furiously vaping Ralph but it feels a bit of a cheap shot – and an obvious metaphor – to cast an actor who towers so massively over the physically slight Akhtar. Like life and politics, Sahota’s play is messy but it’s a bracingly vibrant debut and I absolutely loved it.”
The Reviews Hub: ***** “The many serious themes are never totally overwhelmed by the production’s comic content, and there is much to discuss afterwards. However, it is the lighter that will linger longest in the memory. The Estate is frantic and its focus sometimes gets fuzzy, but when all its pieces fall into place, it is poignant and absolutely hilarious.”
West End Best Friend: ***** “The Estate is one of the last plays to emerge under Rufus Norris’ wing at the NT; he provides us with a new play which will be long remembered and a playwright to watch.”
The Telegraph: *** “Shaan Sahota draws real-life parallels in her uneven, but promising, debut play about ambition, bereavement and the Westminster snake-pit.”
To book tickets visit: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-estate/