Concrete Playground

The first thing the lizard brain wants is shelter and food. Though our mental chassis have been polished up, we can’t hide the fact that there’s a primitive engine powering our motives. It’s the most basic tool in any storyteller’s box, and British playwright Martin Crimp has put it to fiendish use in Dealing with Clair.

Connecting Britain’s 80s property boom to the current mood in Sydney, Cristabel Sved’s slick production tempts and teases her audience with the tale of a young real estate agent’s doomed seduction. The tragedy of this not-moral tale is that the greed and ambition we see on stage is the result of natural, uncontrollable factors – the grim reality of economics.

Led by Laura Brent as the eponymous Clair, Sved’s cast deftly use Crimp’s poetry to draw a stark and gripping image of Sydney’s aspirant culture. Though sometimes the energy drops, there is enough of a foreshadowing atmosphere to draw you on to the dark climax.


We are giving away 2 double passes, courtesy of Griffin Theatre. Email you name, phone number and address to hello@concreteplayground.com.au with 'Dealing With Claire Giveaway' in the subect line.