James Graham's "This House' in HD-Live

Between 1974 and 1979 the British Empire was in disarray, and Parliament was so divided that virtually no legislation was passed. Like America today, where one party controls the House and another the Senate (where a super-majority of 60 is now needed to pass anything significant), Britain had what they call a "hung parliament" where neither of the major political parties held a majority of seats.

Harold Wilson, prime minister from 1974 to 1976, and James Callaghan, his successor from 1976 to 1979, feared to propose any creative measures because the defeat of any bill could bring down their government. As one of the players in This House remarks, "This country is being kept alive on aspirin when what it needs is electric bloody shock therapy."

Unlike America, with its written Constitution, the Brits in this play remind us that they have no written constitution and instead operate according to their perceived traditions, or "gentlemen's agreements." Parliament in the '70s had hardly any female members, by the way, nor female government ministers. The perception of Britain as a failing nation led to the ascension of the activist conservative Margaret Thatcher as prime minister in 1979 (although she doesn't appear in This House.)

Whatever it takes

To Americans frustrated by our own deadlocked Congress, the subject is so immediate and troubling that the topic seems more dramatic than comic. But James Graham, the 31-year-old playwright, wasn't even born during the '70s, and the action in This House takes place so far in the past that his peek into Parliament at that time is being greeted as a comic revelation.

Graham's play focuses on the "whips"— those representatives of each party whose job was to whip members into line and make sure they voted as told, regardless of their personal principles. These key players cajoled, blackmailed and did whatever else was needed to prevent a losing vote that might topple the ruling party. Aged MPs were roused from their sick beds and carried into the Palace of Westminster. Many measures passed by a margin of only one or two votes.

(The recently deceased Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey left his sick bed to vote for gun registration as recently as this year. The more things change….)

Annoying diversions

The impressive set for This House seats members of each party opposite one another on long, upholstered rows of green leather seats. The physical transitions from the floor to anterooms to private chambers are equally impressive.

On the other hand, Jeremy Herrin's staging calls for dramatic scenes to be offset by rock musical numbers and frenetic choreography. It often seemed as if Herrin didn't trust the scintillating material and consequently felt he must provide diversions.

The flamboyant pedal-to-the-metal projection by most cast members became grating after a bit. The voices were so loud that they undermined the story's tragic underpinning.

Who's more blasé?

Charles Edwards is handsomely smug as the Tory whip, while Phil Daniels is bedraggled as the Labour whip. Lauren O'Neil is appealing as Ann Taylor, an assistant, who's especially noticeable because so few women are involved.

An intermission interview raises the question of whether Americans are more blasé about politics than the British. It's a valid question. The National Theatre's spokesperson, Emma Freud, seemed overwhelmed with excitement as she introduced the real Ann Taylor. But no American that I know would be thrilled to meet the U.S. equivalent of the people shown in This House. Such as Leslie Arends, who happens to be the longest-serving whip in U.S. House of Representatives history. Would you give up a night of "Downton Abbey" to meet him?