The Estate starring Adeel Akhtar review round-up

The Estate – fascinating but flawed

Shaan Sahota works as a doctor in Southall. The Estate, her first play, focuses on Angad, an ambitious MP who unexpectedly becomes leader of the opposition. Soon after, his wealthy baggage-handler-turned-property-magnate dad suddenly dies, and his unequal will causes friction among the family. What do the critics make of it?

“The first half feels like an ode to Armando Iannucci”, the second heads “into murkier, more harrowing waters”, and Sahota’s play emerges as “a multi-faceted, bracing and hilarious portrait of personal and political anguish”, writes Alex Wood (WhatsOnStage, ★★★★). Dave Fargnoli (The Stage, ★★★★), meanwhile, labels The Estate a “deliciously vicious satire” and Nick Curtis (Standard, ★★★★) hails it as a “bracingly vibrant debut”.

Others find fault. The “cynical political comedy” and the “sensitive look at the traumatising legacy of a patriarchal upbringing” angle “just don’t mesh”, writes Andrzej Łukowski (TimeOut, ★★★), while Clive Davis (Times, ★★) notes that “two plays are running side by side here and neither of them really works”. On top of that, adds Arifa Akbar (Guardian, ★★★★), “none of it resembles the politics of today”.

Most reviewers offer a mix of praise and criticism. The Estate is “impressive but uneven” for Dominic Cavendish (Telegraph, ★★★), “full of such powerful emotional beats” without “ever becoming a cohesive whole” for Alice Saville (Independent, ★★★), “caustically funny” but “unwieldy” for Sarah Hemming (Financial Times, ★★★). “It’s a great idea, splicing political comedy and family drama together to pointed effect,” she writes, but “the play struggles somewhat under the weight of its own ambition.”

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The Estate – excellent Akhtar

Adeel Akhtar is best known for his screen performances – he won BAFTAs for his roles in the series Murdered by My Father and Sherwood and was nominated for another for his performance in the 2021 film Ali & Ava – but he has impressed in theatre, too, particularly in The Cherry Orchard at the Donmar Warehouse last year.

He is praised again here as Angad, described as “creepingly explosive” by Akbar, “brilliant, ambivalent and riveting” by Hemming and “superb” by Theo Bosanquet (London Theatre, ★★★★). “In a complex role, Akhtar shines,” concludes Cavendish.

“At the start of the show, put-upon and beleaguered, he feels like some socially awkward school prefect,” describes Wood. “By the close, a toxically masculine metamorphosis has taken place and Akhtar breathes genuine menace into Singh.”

“Akhtar crackles with energy and expression: you cannot keep your eyes off him,” Curtis writes. “Though better-known for his TV work, including Sherwood and Murdered by My Father, he’s one of the most compelling stage actors working today.” Bosanquet agrees, adding that this show confirms Akhtar as “one of our most luminous acting talents”.

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The Estate – a sumptuous set 

Director Daniel Raggett made a name for himself with his production of Tom Basden’s adaptation of Accidental Death of an Anarchist, which ran to acclaim in Sheffield in 2022 and in the West End in 2023, earning an Olivier Award nomination.

Some reviewers rave about Raggett again. “Wildly funny, sometimes shocking, occasionally absurd”, his “shouty, kinetic, music-studded production is a hell of a ride”, writes Curtis, while Bosanquet praises “some nice stylistic touches, notably the ghostly appearances, Hamlet-like, of Angad’s father, and a fourth-wall-breaking finale”.

Others are less impressed. In Raggett’s staging, “the comedy bits are so broad as to undercut the more sensitive bits”, writes Łukowski. “It feels like two different shows crashing into one another, bound only by a corrosive scepticism about politicians.”

Most critics admire designer Chloe Lamford’s set, though, which is “sumptuous” according to Bosanquet, “versatile” according to Wood and “suitably grand and airy” according to Fargnoli. “Every time the huge sliding doors in the back wall peel open, they reveal a new location,” he describes. “We visit a gurdwara, a spacious living room and an echoing conference hall where Angad delivers an ominous speech.”

The Estate – the verdict

There is a lot to like about Shaan Sahota’s first play, but it is far from flawless. Generally, the critics enjoy its portrait of an ambitious politician and its examination of patriarchal power in a British-Indian family, but reckon Sahota struggles to tie those two themes together. However, everyone agrees that Adeel Akhtar is excellent in the central role.

Some critics award four stars and some award three, suggesting that the refurbished Dorfman Theatre has reopened with an interesting but imperfect production.