Review Roundup: A GOOD HOUSE at The Royal Court

Alexander Cohen, BroadwayWorld: A Good House is frustrating because South African writer Amy Jeptha’s new play tantalises us with a pungent exploration of the cross section of community, class, and race but can’t find the blueprints to assemble its building blocks. A case of never being more than the sum of its parts, even if those parts have promise in themselves.

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: Amy Jephta’s play carries shades of A Raisin in the Sun, and several other community-clash dramas (including Eureka Day). But what makes it fresh is its sophisticated treatment of race and gentrification.

Daz Gale , All That Dazzles : At one hour 40 minutes with no interval, A Good House speeds by. Though a comedic play on the surface, this is far more serious than that with the comedy a way of highlighting these issues and microaggressions. Uncomfortable to watch at times but always captivating, this is an exceptionally written piece brought to life by a consistently stunning cast. Though they’re only occupying the space at Royal Court for a short time, I would love to see this compelling show return to London for a longer stay in the near future.

Lily Middleton, Everything Theatre: This is the first performance of the play, and Amy Jephta’s writing is startling. It’s a fast-paced script which has you laughing one minute and shrinking into your seat in uncomfortable horror the next. The racism, and Sihle and Bonolo’s differing reactions to it, are hard to witness. On reading the play text afterwards I see that the Zulu words Sihle speaks in the last few minutes translate as “Remember to be invisible and move slowly so you don’t wake them. Sometimes it is best not to wake them; few things in the world are as dangerous as sleepwalkers.” I didn’t need to understand the words as they were performed to grasp their meaning.

Nick Curtis, Evening Standard: All of the characters become at some point unconvincing as they contort to move the debate forward, but Mimî M Khayisa and Sifiso Mazibuko are impressive in the tricky roles of Bonolo and Sihle. Robyn Rainsford is very funny as Jess, constantly trying to rebalance her chakras in the face of excruciating social embarrassment. Scott Sparrow is an irredeemably boorish Boer as Christopher. This isn’t perfect but it’s perceptive, provoking fun.

Tim Bano, TimeOut: Jephta plants and uproots all those little shibboleths of middle classdom: what do we mean by ‘decent people’, ‘good neighbourhood’, etc? Stuffed full of amazing lines, and with six super performances, essentially: A Good House is a very good play.

Holly O'Mahony , London Theatre: Amy Jephta’s play A Good House is a worthy exploration of prejudice and privilege. There’s even a state-of-the-nation essence to its depiction of characters who complain how race, class or wealth is holding them back, while being unable to acknowledge which corner of this triangle offers them advantages. But while spiky exchanges thinly veiled as neighbourliness air these uncomfortable truths, it feels unfocused, as if unsure whether it wants to be a play about racism or capitalism. And while both ‘isms’ are addressed, it doesn’t peer under the bonnet of either of them thoroughly enough.

Aleks Sierz, The Arts Desk: The play’s action is more than once interrupted as lights change and Sihle and Bonolo invite us into their thoughts, subjective and a bit surreal, to comment on the attitudes of the whites. These are great moments, but they add to a general sense of incoherence, as if the play can’t decide whether it is about ideas or people. Still, there is a lot of enjoyably satirical material: we are encouraged to mock Bonolo’s pretentious admiration of her wine aerator and special cheese knife; Jess’s cake is a farcical prop; how laughter is used to defuse social tensions. Sihle occasionally talks to Bonolo in Zulu, a language she doesn’t understand.