Review: The Estate (Dorfman Theatre)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s a busy month for the National Theatre with four shows opening, including two world premieres. The first of these, ahead of next week’s hotly anticipated Inter Alia, is the debut play from Shaan Sahota, as The Estate opens at the most intimate of the National’s spaces, the Dorfman Theatre, With last year’s Till The Stars Come Down playing at the same space and going on to enjoy a West End transfer with five-star reviews, would The Estate have a similar fate and win the public over?

Part political comedy, part family drama, The Estate focuses on MP Angad Singh, who makes a play to become the leader of the opposition after a scandal forces the current leader to resign. As a game of one-upmanship, as candidates attempt to destroy each other, skeletons in Angad’s closet may derail his chances. At the same time, he has to deal with the fallout from the death of his father, embroiled in a warring family that argues over power, gender inequality, and their very culture. Add a pregnant wife into the mix, and it’s a turbulent time for Angad - will he emerge on top, or will it all fall apart?

If that seems like a lot of differing strands for one story, you would be right, and that is part of what makes The Estate so uneven. Shaan Sahota’s writing moves about at a fast pace, never quite settling on one area, theme, or tone. Some may call that ambitious - the problem is that the varying aspects don’t mesh together well, and end up clashing with each other in an unsatisfying way.

It starts out pleasantly enough, with the political aspect almost feeling like a farce as it deals with the initial scandal. Slightly reminiscent of political TV comedies The Thick Of It and Veep, the problem with this is that the real political climate has proven quite farcical in itself, with ridiculous stories about MPs making them feel like a parody of themselves at times. That means that outlandish stories about the candidates’ past don’t raise eyebrows like they should, and limit the impact of the comedy from landing.

I will say one of the scandals Sahota has chosen does cross the line of good taste, feeling quite crass and uncomfortable to watch. I’m far from a prude, but it felt like the inclusion of this topic was for shock value or because Sahota thought it was funny - sadly, I disagreed. While there were members of the audience laughing,it was far from a unanimous roar, in a play that seemed to split the audience. Other intended humorous moments fell flat, with a tone never being settled on. It is only towards the show’s climax, where it all gets a bit more serious and sinister, that The Estate finds its feet and shows the real potential of Sahota’s writing, which makes it a shame we didn’t see more of this quality in the two hours prior.

The Estate is at its most powerful when it talks about power in itself. The themes of gender inequality and tradition in Singh’s culture ask some important questions and explore this imbalance in an intriguing way. That said, it doesn’t quite delve into this subject as much as I would have liked, which proves a shame as that could have elevated the story even further, especially with the little nuggets we get of Singh’s behaviour mirroring that of his father and continuing his legacy, for better or worse.

While this is theatre, you do want a sense of believability so you can escape into the story. The Estate suffers from a feeling of inauthenticity, with jarring lines and heavy-handed situations needing reigning in to give the varying subjects the gravitas they deserve. The strongest moments bookend the production with a consistent and fairly funny opening, and a captivating climax let down by a messy middle section. The word “uneven” may be overused in reviews, but I can’t think of a more fitting word to describe this production, unfortunately.

The same word can be applied to Daniel Raggett’s direction, showcasing moments of brilliance with some inspired choices, only to be mixed with some more questionable ones elsewhere. The sudden appearance of cast members in the audience detracted and distracted from the powerful scene playing out on the stage at the time, and felt somewhat unnecessary, while many of the cast suffered from poor choices when it came to realising their characters. Again, this is only true for some of the time, with some of the choices elsewhere working much better, including a fantastic use of Chloe Lamford’s remarkable set design, transforming the stage into three distinct settings in fantastic ways.

Though The Estate boasts a talented cast of proven performers, not every performance landed, and I do think this may have been more a reflection on the direction than the cast itself. I won’t mention the names out of respect to these cast members, but a couple of them did come across fairly one-dimensional and unnatural, with the reciting of their lines feeling just that, lacking in conviction with no emphasis or feeling given to make them come alive.

Adeel Akhtar leads the cast as Angad Singh in a charismatic and often exaggerated performance. Though there is a struggle to balance the inconsistencies of the writing and direction, Akhtar does a fine job in lifting the more questionable of moments in a confident lead performance. The happy-go-lucky character he portrays for the most part ebbs away in an incredible scene towards the end, where we see a very different side to Angad. This is where Akhtar truly comes into his own in a phenomenal piece of acting. Though it perhaps lacks subtlety, it doesn’t stop this being the most heart-pounding moment of the show, exquisitely realised.

Elsewhere in the cast, Dinita Gohil has some rare but wonderful moments as Angad’s wife Sangeeta. Though she is underused, she lights up the stage with her appearances and left me longing to see more from her, while Humphrey Ker proves a comic highlight as the larger-than-life Ralph Hughes, feeling as if he could have come straight from a TV series such as W1A. Largely comic relief, he has a real consistency in his character, which isn’t always seen in the production.

Though The Estate is enjoyable enough, it is also incredibly frustrating in its inconsistencies. Fairly muddled at times, I got the sense I was watching a draft of a play that wasn’t quite ready to be seen in a theatre quite as prestigious as this one, and was in need of some more workshopping to get it to reach its full potential. The writing proves strong at times, which makes the weaker moments pale in comparison. Though conflicting tones can make a show captivating, they need to gel together and the mix of comedy and drama in The Estate clash with each other, with some of the comedy lacking in comedy and the drama taking more of a backseat, despite the fact this is where the play truly shines.

In the play, Singh races to become the leader of his party. Similarly, if The Estate was racing to become the leader of the best National Theatre plays opening this month, it would fall short, though that’s not to say it shouldn’t try again in the future after it has sorted out the skeletons in its closet.

The Estate plays at the Dorfman Theatre until 23rd August. Tickets from https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-estate/ 

Photos by Helen Murray