The Estate Reviews – Starring Adeel Akhtar at the National Theatre

"Adeel Akhtar is unmissable as ferociously ambitious MP"

"Shaan Sahota’s play sets a British-Sikh politician’s schemes against his family betrayal – a tremendous debut from a writer of huge promise"

"Adeel Akhtar has become a giant of the stage in a few recent fell swoops, it seems. Certainly his creepingly explosive turn in Shaan Sahota’s debut drama is unmissable. It carries this first play, almost eclipsing its imperfections."

"Akhtar rises into his part, first unassuming and then viper-like, to loom over this family drama cum political play."

"It is exciting writing, fast and funny in its political satire, if clunky in plotting"

Snappily directed by Daniel Raggett, there are brilliant performances across the board. But there is too much stuffed in, jostling for air."

"... the biggest hole is that none of it resembles the politics of today. Angad’s race is vaguely referenced but there is no mention of the big issues of our day, including immigration"

"The scandal on which the political plotline pivots is naive too."

"Still, it is a sensational debut, and if the best kind of failure is one that bears too much ambition, there is an admirable kind of over-reaching here, and a great playwright in the making."

"Adeel Akhtar is extraordinary in this political yarn"

"Like life and politics, Shaan Sahota’s play is messy, but it’s also a bracingly vibrant debut"

"Though contrived in parts, Shaan Sahota’s debut play about a British Sikh politician wrestling with his family and his desire to lead his party is an absolute blast. It’s anchored by an extraordinary performance from Adeel Akhtar, in which emotion seems to possess and convulse his wiry body. Wildly funny, sometimes shocking, occasionally absurd, Daniel Raggett’s shouty, kinetic, music-studded production is a hell of a ride."

"Like life and politics, Sahota’s play is messy but it’s a bracingly vibrant debut and I absolutely loved it."

"Deliciously vicious satire"

"Arresting debut play from Shaan Sahota explores knotty issues with dark humour and fiery, unflinching focus"

"Realistically reflecting the utter savagery of Tory party infighting, this deliciously vicious satire from Shaan Sahota – in her first fully staged drama – pulls no punches."

"Directed by Daniel Raggett, the piece has a slow-building heft, starting out as a sparky, close-to-the-knuckle political caper but growing increasingly grim"

"While almost all of Sahota’s characters are irredeemably vile, they are drawn with enough depth and given enough believable motivation, that their stories remain compelling despite a somewhat overstretched plot."

"... Shaan Sahota’s taut drama The Estate – which is, remarkably, her debut play. Remarkable in that it paints a multi-faceted, bracing and yet hilarious portrait of personal and political anguish."

"If the first half feels like an ode to Armando Iannucci with its nods to political scheming... then act two has no fear treading into murkier, more harrowing waters: by the end, providing a genuinely quite shocking and disturbing altercation."

"At the heart of it all is Adeel Akhtar, giving a brilliant sleight-of-hand performance."

"With so few plays exploring the Anglo-Indian experience, Sahota’s themes, ideas and debates are refreshingly original"

"... director Daniel Raggett keeps it all moving at a rocking speed – blasting through lengthier family arguments with metronome-paced efficiency."

"It’s uneven, yet relentlessly arresting. Sahota must be commended for her ambition here – the landing may not be perfect, but the sequence of flourishes certainly wows."

"Adeel Akhtar shines as an MP of humble origins but ruthless ambition"

"Shaan Sahota’s debut play combines politics and family to caustically funny but unwieldy effect at the National Theatre"

"... Shaan Sahota’s caustically funny, if slightly unwieldy, debut play (the first in the reopened, refurbished Dorfman Theatre) is about where you come from, the baggage you bring, and how hard it is to escape it."

"At first an acid commentary on the British political system, it deepens into a broader, more scathing consideration of hierarchy, inheritance and the warping impact of entrenched power, both political and personal."

"... the play struggles somewhat under the weight of its own ambition — a little like its characters — it’s delivered with a deliciously nasty flourish by Daniel Raggett’s cast."

"At the centre of the fray is Adeel Akhtar, brilliant, ambivalent and riveting as Angad"

"...Akhtar’s outstanding delivery of the climactic scene, where his character seizes the mic and the narrative to get his revenge, is so compelling, I reckon most of us would vote for him."

"This political comedy about a struggling British-Asian MP sounds all too familiar"

"Shaan Sahota draws real-life parallels in her uneven, but promising, debut play about ambition, bereavement and the Westminster snake-pit"

"Shaan Sahota’s impressive but uneven debut play, The Estate, about a lowly, initially likeable British-Asian MP negotiating the snake-pit of Westminster and a nest of intrigue closer to home as he vies to become opposition leader represents a sparky fusion of backbiting political comedy and knives-out family drama."

"The play’s ambition – as it shifts from lighter moments to vexed concerns about equality, race, patriarchy and trauma – is refreshing. But Sahota covers so much terrain that Daniel Raggett’s production sometimes stumbles when the mood shifts"

"In a complex role, Akhtar shines – and just about holds our sympathies – as an underdog as often buckling as rallying"

"In the end, Sahota leaves you wanting more in the way of finessed detail – but of her baseline talent, and promise, there’s no doubt."

"This entertaining dramedy about an ambitious British Asian politician suffers from trying to be two different plays at once"

"This nihilistic comedy about a British Asian politician who seizes his chance to become leader of the opposition is funny and frustrating in equal measures."

"The opening scenes thrum with an energy similar to a previous National Theatre triumph, James Graham’s This House"

"Helena Wilson is scene stealingly entertaining as the apparently humble Angad’s shark-like head of comms Petra. It’s fun. But then Sahota introduces what is essentially an entire second main storyline, this time revolving around Angad’s late father’s will"

"In Daniel Raggett’s production the comedy bits are so broad as to undercut the more sensitive bits. It feels like two different shows crashing into one another, bound only by a corrosive skepticism about politicians. But on that last note it feels weirdly detached from the real world: there’s no mention of Rishi Sunak, Reform or who the actual ruling party of the day is."

"Either would have made a really satisfying full-length play, or even a double bill of shorter plays. But the two just don’t mesh"

"The Estate at the National Theatre is a potent but uneven family drama that will leave you feeling angry"

"Shaan Sahota’s chewy first play examines the dynamics in a south Asian-British family following the death of their patriarch"

"There’s a blunt, swinging impact to Shaan Sahota’s first play, The Estate, which is powered by fury at how south Asians are treated by British society – and how they treat each other, too. But it takes a while to build."

"The Estate is a play that’s full of such powerful emotional beats, without ever becoming a cohesive whole."

"Sahota’s writing doesn’t always achieve the same feat, lacking the surprise revelations and twists that normally power both funeral sagas and political dramas. Still, there’s something deeply refreshing about her approach."

"A sweaty drama about family and the Westminster bubble"

"In Shaan Sahota’s sometimes crude debut play, at London’s National Theatre, there are sharp asides on the narrow social background of Britain’s parliamentary class"

"Two plays are running side by side here and neither of them really works. At the centre of both is Adeel Akhtar’s convincingly harassed shadow minister"

"You can admire the ambition of this 2020 debut play by Shaan Sahota... But because she never quite seems in control of her material, we’re left with some jarring changes in tone. Her script does, though, deliver some sharp asides on the narrow social background of the Westminster class"

"Sadly, Daniel Raggett’s hectic production can’t compensate for the wild implausibilities in the storyline, and while Angad has all the makings of a man of straw, there are some uneven performances elsewhere."

"In the climactic scenes mayhem erupts at a party conference, the action spilling into the Dorfman’s stalls, just as it did in that other heavy-handed political satire, All of Us. The shouting and the fighting are as synthetic as the soundbites."