House of Blakewell’s House Party is a light-hearted, interactive cabaret which parodies wannabe-hipster life. Having just moved in to a flat in Peckham because it seemed urban and edgy, flatmates Alice and Harry have personal agendas to pursue at the house party we’re all attending. Alice is determined to snare Wolf, a part-time blacksmith/bicycle courier who wears his hair in a bun, while Harry has given up writing musicals in favour of DJing and is hoping a guest who interns at Sony can help him get signed.

The innocence and fallibility of both characters makes them extremely likeable, and their faltering attempts at coolness gets the audience onside early on. There is an affectionate chemistry between the performers that makes them warm and likeable, and they work well together, with Harry Blake’s deadpan monotone complementing Alice Keedwell’s bubbly optimism. By naming their characters after themselves, Keedwell and Blake ensure that the satirical content is teasing and perhaps self-parodying rather than mean-spirited. This sense that the characters are versions of the actors, coupled with the lack of fourth wall, makes the show intimate, with a friendly atmosphere. Even those with an aversion to audience participation are unlikely to be too embarrassed by being offered carrot sticks – “vegan snack?” – or being manically given shots of vodka in an attempt to revive a dying party.

While entertaining, House of Blakewell’s House Party sometimes lacks depth and plot development. The meandering interactive nature generally doesn’t drag, although some additions – such as Alice roller-skating around the stage and audience – seem a bit gratuitous, since the joke about liking vintage things that are ironically cool has already been made. However, some of the less polished and slightly slow-moving parts between musical numbers work as part of the cabaret format, which excuses a more episodic approach.

The show’s strength is in its musical virtuosity: Blake’s score and lyrics are both extremely funny and adeptly composed, and Keedwell’s vocal ability is stunning. Solos with the oboe and recorder are both comic and in-keeping with characters, and technically impressive. The decision to use microphones in such a small venue was a strange one given the strength of Keedwell’s voice in particular, and the flow might have been improved without them, but overall the slightly raw and unpolished nature of the show adds to its charm. House of Blakewell’s House Party is an entertaining social satire with excellent and versatile musical performances, and a fun, feel-good ending.

House of Blakewell’s House Party played as part of the Brighton Fringe.