'The Estate' review — this punchy political play confirms Adeel Akhtar as one of our most luminous acting talents

Read our review of Shaan Sahota's comic drama The Estate, now in performances at the National Theatre to 23 August.

This assured debut play from Shaan Sahota, which reopens the refurbished Dorfman Theatre at the National, may have a sitcom feel but it packs plenty of punch. It centres on Angad Singh (Adeel Akhtar), a Sikh MP with ambitions to become leader of the opposition, who is thrown into scandals both public and private in the wake of his father's death.

The early exchanges feel straight out of The Thick of It, as Singh plots with his press team Petra (Helena Wilson) and Isaac (Fode Simbo) to overcome the wishes of overbearing, vaping spin doctor Ralph (Humphrey Ker) by ascending to the leadership.

But the drama moves up a gear following the reading of Singh senior's will, which leaves everything to Angad at the expense of elder sisters Malicka (Shelley Conn) and Gyan (Thusitha Jayasundera). Long-felt family wounds are soon being torn open as the siblings debate their father's legacy, cultural sexism, and who ultimately deserves the business he built from nothing.

The theme of inheritance is knotty and endlessly fascinating, as Chekhov knew better than most, and Sahota paints a taut and intriguing scenario that highlights hypocrisies on all sides. Angad believes himself to be a good man ("I do the laundry, I go down on my wife," he protests), but gradually reveals himself as being broken by a familiar combination of paternal and public school bullying.

Akhtar, who recently played a Prime Minister on screen in Black Doves, is superb, showing just the right level of vulnerability to evoke our sympathy as well as scorn. When he's pleading that his playing of the notorious biscuit game at Harrow was "banter", the humour curdles into deep anger at the indignities he suffered to fit in.

Like Laura Wade's Posh, the play neatly skewers the milieu of private school and Oxbridge types that have tended to dominate our political class (the programme details the school background of each character). Although this feels targeted at the previous administration – The Estate originally dates from 2020, when it was shortlisted for the Women's Prize in Playwriting – it's a perennial theme. And on the central question of primogeniture inheritance Sahota writes with eloquence and rage. "Would this be good enough for your daughter?” Gyan pointedly asks Angad’s wife Sangeeta (Dinita Gohil), herself guilty of other snobberies regarding inherited wealth. The final moments will send shivers down every spine.

Daniel Raggett’s production plays largely for laughs, and rightly so, given there are plenty on offer (many provided by Ker’s lofty, self-proclaimed “Maharajah of spin”). But there are some nice stylistic touches, notably the ghostly appearances, Hamlet-like, of Angad’s father, and a fourth-wall-breaking finale at the party conference. It all plays out on Chloe Lamford’s sumptuous set, which captures the opulence of everything from the Singh family home to the gurdwara setting of the funeral scene.

Although at points the dialogue can feel over-stuffed and formulaic, particularly in the office scenes, it’s always welcome to find a dramatist who can deliver a serious message with such a light touch. All told it makes for an ideal summer play, a highly enjoyable evening that will give you plenty to debate on the journey home. It confirms Sahota as a writer to watch, and Akhtar as one of our most luminous acting talents.

The Estate is at the National Theatre to 23 August. Book The Estate tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photo credit: The Estate (Photos by Helen Murray)