“Order! We are now in session!”

I’ll be annoying you with some Fun Facts through the stream of THIS HOUSE, to warn you...

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Anyone in the world can watch it here, now
https://twitter.com/nationaltheatre/status/1266066710588784642

#ThisHouse These whips - the 'deputies' - are WALTER HARRISON and BERNARD 'JACK' WEATHERILL.

Weatherill would one day become Speaker (Tory)

Harrison is known as the most 'feared & admired' whip in modern history (Labour)

And yes you can stand behind the Clock

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#ThisHouse the reason why ministerial boxes open from the bottom not the top is so that Ministers can't carry them away without locking them - otherwise all the papers would fall out.

And yes, the Chief's Whips case .... is DARK BLACK.

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#ThisHouse This is Ann Taylor @AnnTaylor_HoL that Lauren is playing. She would go on to become the first ever female Chief Whip.

The Whips have a code of silence. They don't make speeches, do interviews. I couldn't have written this play without her help.

#ThisHouse This is Andrew Havill playing the member for Walsall North - John Stonehouse.

I cannot tell you how much you should look up John Stonehouse, and his faked suicide, that was the first domino in this real life story. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stonehouse
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#ThisHouse there was INDEED a shooting range underneath Parliament back then.

When Tony Blair came in I *think (please advise) it turned into a creche. Which... yeah, is probably better.

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#ThisHouse The universe is very mischievous. Yes, the "Big Ben" clock stopped for the very first time in history during the period when cooperation in Parliament ended with "pairing" suspended

I think I took an afternoon off after I read that. The metaphor did the work.

#ThisHouse This is the ICONIC Helene Hayman, who was the first MP to breastfeed in the Commons chamber

I remember when she came to see the show, with the baby, now a woman in her mid 30s, and sitting behind her in the audience... feeling the feels

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