Theatre review: The Estate

As a result of having to close the Dorfman for the best part of a year for maintenance works, the final season of RuNo shows at the National Theatre's smallest space is launching just as the ones in the two larger venues are coming to a close. The opener for this three-play season comes from a first-time playwright, Shaan Sahota, and mixes lively political comedy with a much bleaker look at generational trauma in a patriarchal society. Angad Singh (Adeel Akhtar) is a minor member of the Shadow Cabinet, but when the leader of his party has to resign because of a scandal, he becomes a surprise favourite to replace him. This big upheaval in his career coincides with one in his personal life, as his father dies unexpectedly, leaving him his entire property portfolio. Though his sisters Gyan (Thusitha Jayasundera) and Malicka (Shelley Conn) are used to being overlooked, not even being mentioned in the will still comes as a slap in the face.

They ask Angad to honour some comments he's made in the past about how an equal spilt would be fairer, but he surprises them by refusing. With the party conference and leadership election coming up, the women threaten to tell the press about him cutting them off, sabotaging his chances.

The Estate opens as a pretty light political comedy - no actual parties are named, but given the current state of UK politics any references would be pretty interchangeable (having said that, a pre-recorded Richard Goulding voices the disgraced ex-leader, and some of the roles he's played in the past would certainly point in a certain direction.) Akhtar's hapless but ambitious politician gets to navigate his attempts at power with the help of a fickle comms team (Helena Wilson and Fode Simbo) while trying to outwit Humphrey Ker's manipulative spin doctor.

But as Chloe Lamford's set slickly takes us from parliament offices to a luxurious home there's an undercurrent of something much darker in Angad's personal life, and it quite soon becomes apparent that his late father's estate is built on being a ruthless slumlord; the drip-feed of information on the way he treated his children only makes things worse, and increasingly dark. This builds into the side of the story that's an intense drama focused on patriarchy, specifically within the Sikh community, and offers surprising twists in the way it offers both the side of the women made invisible, and that of the men who wish they could be seen and focused on less.

It's a great showcase for the cast's versatility, particularly Akhtar as he takes his character from likeable but well-meaning rogue into someone much more sinister, haunted by the prospect of turning into the father he feared and hated. What Daniel Raggett's production can't quite manage is to tie up the very abrupt tonal shifts between comedy and drama, which make it feel as if the party leadership campaign and the imploding personal life come out of completely different plays. Dinita Gohil as Angad's wife Sangeeta is also doing her best to bring an underwritten character to life, while Sahota's references to the public school system that churns out powerful politicians don't quite build to anything other than a soggy biscuit subplot that fizzles out.

One moment in the first act very effectively ties up the political and personal, as Angad delivers a eulogy that seamlessly turns into a cynical campaign speech. But for all the strength of individual scenes the rest of the play never quite manages to equal that one's ability to bring its disparate elements together.

The Estate by Shaan Sahota is booking until the 23rd of August at the National Theatre's Dorfman.

Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes including interval.

Photo credit: Helen Murray.