The Duck House

Sir Peter Viggers, the ex-MP for Gosport in Hampshire, adored his ducks, apparently. So much so that he bought them a ‘Stockholm’ duck house, a glorious 5ft floating palace in the middle of his duck pond so that they could shelter from the rain and hide from the foxes. It wasn’t cheap at £1,645 – more than the average monthly salary in 2008 – but Sir Peter wasn’t concerned about the expense. He wasn’t paying. We were.

Of all the fraudulently claimed-for items that came to light during the MPs’ expenses scandal of 2009, the duck house is the one that has stuck. Even the glittery loo seat for £29.99 failed to capture the public’s imagination (and indignation) in the same way, so you can see why Dan Patterson and Colin Swash might have seized on it as the starting point for their play.

With a pedigree as writers for Have I Got News For You and Mock The Week you might also expect that they would make the most of the farcical material. However, be warned. This is less a biting satire about one of the biggest scandals in living memory, and more a jolly romp that dances around the subject and then descends into slapstick.

Ben Miller is convincing as Labour MP Robert Houston who is planning to cross over to the Conservatives but realises that he needs to clean up his act and his receipts before being anointed. Cue the sacking of the cash-in-hand Russian housekeeper (Debbie Chazen) with amusing consequences – although quite why Tory toff Sir Norman Cavendish (Simon Shepherd) should end up in a nappy is still a mystery.

Nancy Carroll is huge fun as the posh wife Felicity, who ends up with many of the best lines. ‘At least we can stop pretending,’ she says when the news breaks of their switch in allegiances. Not for her the drudgery of political ideology. Terry Johnson’s direction is clever and without compromise but the play does miss more than one trick – it’s not nearly as funny as the real events.

Until 29 March at the Vaudeville Theatre, 404 Strand, London WC2: 0844-482 9675, www.the-duck-house.co.uk