National Theatre Company, Phil Daniels

‘This country is being kept alive on aspirin when what it needs is electric bloody shock therapy.’

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 acclaimed play premiered at the National Theatre in 2012. Graham’s other work includes The Vote at the Donmar Warehouse and also broadcast live on election night. Director Jeremy Herrin’s previous work at Chichester includes Uncle Vanya (2012) and Another Country (2013). He is Artistic Director of Headlong.