Concrete Playground

In a world funded by the currency of youth, aging can be a pretty difficult concept for a lot of folks to accept. Ours is a time in which Botox clinics pop up like wild fungi, dating a boy in school uniform is considered a mark of feminine liberation and citing an ‘age range’ as opposed to an actual age is no longer isolated to Hollywood actors.

In Philip Ridley's intimate, off-kilter play The Fastest Clock in the Universe, directed by Evin Donohoe, modern day age-phobia is explored through its egocentric lead character, aptly named ‘Cougar'. The action kicks off on Cougar's ‘19th’ birthday, an event that we later learn has taken place several times before. Doted on by his loyal companion, simply known as ‘the Captain’, we see Cougar basking in his vanity with the self-obsession of a full-blown narcissist. Complete with fake birthday cards and a cake adorned with 19 candles, we eventually discover that the whole fraudulent shindig is for the benefit of Foxtrot, a much younger boy Cougar is trying to bait. Cougar's ill-intentioned plan is quickly derailed however, with the arrival of Sherbet, Foxtrot's newly acquired fiancé.

While this darkly comic play indulges in melodrama a little too often, at times coming off overplayed and unfeasible, it redeems itself through some genuinely humorous moments and solid performances, most notably from Brooke Ryan (Sherbet) whose impeccable comic timing adds a dynamic dimension to the second act. In the subtler moments, the broader themes of vanity, mortality, sexuality and power translate effectively; unfortunately they are lost when overlapped by cliché.