The House of Shades

by Beth Steel

Set against the ever-changing industrial landscape of working-class Britain, Beth Steel’s revelatory new play spans five decades in the lives, and deaths, of the Webster family.

Nothing cuts into us like the family knife.

The Webster House.
1965. 1979. 1985. 1990. 2016.
Death silences no one, least of all the dead.

Set against the ever-changing industrial landscape of working-class Britain, Beth Steel’s revelatory new play spans five decades in the lives, and deaths, of the Webster family.

The House of Shades premiered at the Almeida in May 2020.

Beth Steel won Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

Genres: Plays

96 pages, Paperback

Published January 13, 2026

About the author

Beth Steel’s first play Ditch premiered at the HighTide Festival before transferring to the Old Vic Tunnels. Ditch was shortlisted for the John Whiting Award. Wonderland, her second play, was performed at Hampstead Theatre and won her the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright. Her third play, Labyrinth opened at the Hampstead Theatre in 2016.

Reviews

[Carmijn Gerritsen]

This drama follows a British family across multiple decades from 1965 to 2019. It engages with matters of independence, socialism and feminism in a multifaceted manner. As such, the boundary between the personal and political is once again blurred through the recurring metaphor of the family as a haunted structure. Moreover, this play is also a Brexit drama as it reflects on the construction and fragmentation of a union. This is for instance exemplified by the tensions regarding the Labour movement. Although it was difficult to follow at time, it provided quite an experimental narrative with various interlinking characters.

[Eva]

you know i love een tragisch onsympathiek vrouwelijk personage die wordt bespookt door haar overleden dochter. de rest.. idgaf

[Charlotte]

This was a really intriguing play to read, and the shifting focus between death and the social events of the time was really interesting. I loved the use of multi rolling for the actors, I think it gives it a really brechtian feel and I love it.

[Konstanze]

read for uni