Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers Shape Our House Opening???

Last night's world premiere of Madness musical Our House was a star-studded affair, with guests including Denise Van Outen, David Baddiel, Gaby Roslin, Anneka Rice, Brian May, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Hugh Laurie and, of course, the ever-popular "nutty boys" themselves. At the midst of a rousing finale, Madness' lead singer Suggs sloped across the stage in signature fashion with a traffic cone atop his head, soon joined by the entire band who jigged along with the cast to a standing ovation. Afterwards, we caught up with book writer Tim Firth, who we last saw fielding questions from some 300 Whatsonstage.com theatregoers as part of our Outing to the show's first preview on 7 October. Following that event, the group collectively submitted more than ten pages of detailed feedback to the production team and Firth admits that the comments had been invaluable, with the majority of suggested changes incorporated into the now substantially improved and highly polished production. Could this be a new form of focus group theatre with Whatsonstage.com at the fore? In any case, it's reassuring to know that theatregoers' opinions really are hard - and can make a difference too.

Got some goss? Contact gossip@whatsonstage.com

Related Content