Under Presho
The house that vanished review
Production Comapny – BBC
Rating – 
This series followed on as part of the excellent BBC dramas I’ve reviewed in the past. The title captivated me immediately, and I was expecting something like The House On The Borderland. I was in for something of a shock though. Rather than something spooky and mysterious, what we have here is something purely grounded in reality, yet no less mysterious.
So what’s it about?
Rather than the fictional dramas of previous series, this story is true. It follows the remarkable and heartbreaking story of Irish filmmaker Neville Presho. In the 1970s he made a documentary about the loss of traditional Irish ways of life. Whilst filming on the remote Tory Island, he falls in love with the rugged beauty and simple way of life on the island and buys a house overlooking the sea. Whilst not “born of the island” and truly a local, he integrates into life on the island, and is quite literally living the dream.
As is usually the case though, things change and Neville ends up moving to New Zealand. Tory Island though, always remains in his heart and he knows that one day he’ll return.
That day comes round, and as his family are on the ferry to Tory Island, Neville is eagerly telling them about the wonderful view of the harbour from his house, and how it’s the oldest house on the island. As the ferry rounds the headland something is wrong. The harbour is there, but the house is not. Maybe he remembers it wrong. It’s been years since he was here after all. Deep down he knows he’s not wrong. The house should be there, but it isn’t.
Just what the hell is going on?
Is it any good?
It’s an interesting story for sure, but I’m not sure it resonates on the same level as other true life podcasts on my list, and it lacks the excitement of the fictional stories on this BBC series of shows.
Being a BBC series, you know there’s no expense spared regarding production value. The dramatisation is very good, with all the actors on top form. You really get to sympathise with poor Neville and his long suffering wife.
Unfortunately that’s as far as my emotional responses can stretch. Ultimately, Neville’s life choices did him no favours, and whilst the obviously criminal actions of the antagonists are inexcusable, I feel Neville could have pursued matters differently. I’ve not been in that situation though, so take that with a pinch of salt if you like.
Final thoughts
As I mentioned above, this is certainly an interesting and unbelievable tale. Stranger than fiction in fact. You can’t help but feel sorry for Neville and the way an entire community turned their back on him. Unfortunately, I can’t give the series full marks because it’s just missing something for me.
The main thing I took away from this, is that you should never take your loved ones for granted. Even they have limits, and the person I feel most sorry for is Neville’s wife. She obviously didn’t sign up for any of this, and Neville’s deteriorating mental health and alcoholism stretched her love to breaking point. That is the tragedy here. Neville put a house (albeit a really nice one) above someone who loved him unconditionally.
You can get The House That Vanished here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1zlpQCXsH01jKYjzCzTYF33/how-can-a-house-just-disappear