This House (2012)
1974. The UK faces economic crisis and a hung parliament. In a culture hostile to cooperation, it’s a period when votes are won or lost by one, when there are fist fights in the bars and when sick MPs are carried through the lobby to register their vote. It’s a time when a staggering number of politicians die, and the building creaks under idiosyncrasies and arcane traditions.
Set in the engine rooms of Westminster, James Graham’s This House strips politics down to the practical realities of those behind the scenes: the whips who roll up their sleeves and on occasion bend the rules to shepherd and coerce a diverse chorus of MPs within the Mother of all Parliaments.
This House had its world première at the Cottesloe Theatre on the 18th September 2012 and ran through to the 1st December. Due to it's phenomenal success, a second run of This House was commissioned for the Olivier Theatre, but Philip was unable to star in this due to prior commitments.
Set in the engine rooms of Westminster, James Graham’s This House strips politics down to the practical realities of those behind the scenes: the whips who roll up their sleeves and on occasion bend the rules to shepherd and coerce a diverse chorus of MPs within the Mother of all Parliaments.
This House had its world première at the Cottesloe Theatre on the 18th September 2012 and ran through to the 1st December. Due to it's phenomenal success, a second run of This House was commissioned for the Olivier Theatre, but Philip was unable to star in this due to prior commitments.
Philip plays...
Walter Harrison MP
A gritty, northern labour politician (MP for Wakefield) and deputy chief whip. It's his job to control and discipline his party's MPs... and get them to the House of Commons to vote!
Walter Harrison MP
A gritty, northern labour politician (MP for Wakefield) and deputy chief whip. It's his job to control and discipline his party's MPs... and get them to the House of Commons to vote!
Media
Trivia
- Julian Wadiham who co-starred opposite Philip in This House also starred alongside him in audio film Minister of Chance.
- Philip was replaced for the second run by Reece Dinsdale, his co-star from I.D.
- A recording of This House was made and broadcast as part of National Theatre Live, but it was from the second run at the Olivier Theatre, which means it did not feature Philip.