Photos: In Rehearsal for THE HOUSE PARTY At Chichester's Minerva Theatre

Laura Lomas’s The House Party spins Strindberg’s Miss Julie into intense, fizzing life for  today’s generation. Directed by Holly Race Roughan, in a co-production with Headlong in  association with Frantic Assembly, it runs at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre from 3 May – 1  June, with a press night on Friday 10 May. See photos from inside the rehearsal room below!

A wild party. A friendship. A cherished pet. And a night that changes everything. 

It’s Julie’s 18th birthday, and she’s throwing a party in her father’s extravagant townhouse. Her  boyfriend has just dumped her and her long-suffering best friend Christine is trying to pick up  the pieces. As the revellers pile into the booze, down in the kitchen Christine and her boyfriend  Jon – son of Julie’s cleaner – clear up and dare to dream of the future. 

But as the volume goes up and the shots go down, Julie concocts a twisted cocktail of privilege,  desire and destruction. Audiences have the option of choosing immersive tickets to be amongst the house party action. 

Lomas’s recent work includes Metamorphoses (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Blue  Woman (Royal Opera House) and Chaos (National Theatre Connections). 

This co-production with Headlong in association with Frantic Assembly is directed by Holly  Race Roughan, whose previous work at Chichester includes Hedda Tesman (2019) and A  View from the Bridge (2023). Headlong celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2024; their  collaborations with Chichester have also included Six Characters in Search of an Author, Enron and The House They Grew Up In. 

Rachelle Diedericks, whose work includes Our Generation at the National Theatre and  Chichester, The Crucible at the NT and A View from the Bridge (Headlong/CFT) plays  Christine. Josh Finan, who was BAFTA nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the  BBC’s The Responder, previously appeared in The Southbury Child at CFT and The Bridge  and is currently appearing in Netflix’s The Gentlemen, plays Jon; and Nadia Parkes, whose  many TV appearances include the forthcoming Kidnapped, The Bastard Son & The Devil  Himself and The Spanish Princess, plays Julie. 

The company also includes an ensemble of young actors: Amaia Naima Aguinaga, Oliver  Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Lyla Garner-Gibbons, Jaheem Pinder, Jamie  Randall, Charlotte Stubbs, Priya Uddin, Grace Watkins; and two child actors, Nicole Arthur and Layla Owens.  

The House Party has set design by Loren Elstein, costume design by Maybelle Laye, lighting  design by Joshua Pharo, music and sound design by Giles Thomas, movement direction by  Scott Graham, intimacy direction by Haruka Kuroda and casting by Matilda James CDG. 

For ages 14+; please note this production contains scenes some people may find upsetting. The House Party is sponsored by Wiley. 

Photo Credit: Ellie Kurttz

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