PLAY REVIEW: The Estate ★★★★

The Estate, currently running at the National Theatre until 23 August, is a sizzling political satire that tackles complex and varied themes in a very fast paced narrative.

Angad Singh is a very ambitious politician hoping to get selected to head the party for the next election. As a British-Sikh person, Angad emphasises his down to earth nature to gain voter sympathy, hiding his Oxford education by calling his father an "immigrant baggage handler" who arrived in the country with an ever-decreasing amount of money in his pocket, when in reality the old man had worked his way up to becoming a wealthy and influential slum-lord of sorts. 

In the wake of the leader of the opposition being buried in an unsavoury scandal, Anghad's closest rival also has skeletons in his closet begging to be let out by a well orchestrated media campaign. During all this turmoil Anghad's father dies, leaving his entire estate to his only son. Amidst political campaigns and media manipulation, Anghad faces his two older sisters who contest their father's will and threaten to take their brother down as a selfish misogynist.

There is a lot going on in this play, so not every storyline is fully explored and fleshed out, but there is not one boring second to be found in The Estate. Incredibly fast paced, and surprisingly hilarious amidst the chaos and emotional devastation, it's a brilliant modern satire that asks expectedly deep questions about culture, principles, morals, and equality.

Adeel Akhtar absolutely dominates the stage, effortlessly slipping from deeply emotionally injured son to grandiose politician shaking rousing speeches out of his sleeve. It's a spectacle to behold that might benefit from exploring its female characters a little more deeply and with more balance, as every single one of them seem like stereotypes that serve a particular purpose in the narrative. But despite its flaws, it's a brisk and buzzing production that entertains as much as it poses important questions in today's fragile political landscape.