Last night I went to see Clybourne Park at the Park Theatre in London's glitzy Finsbury Park.
Winner of both the Tony and Olivier Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for author Bruce Norris, Clybourne Park is a razor-sharp satire about prejudice and the politics of race and real estate.
I loved it. Thought provoking, unsettling, and very, very funny. In fact, it has one of the funniest jokes I think I have ever heard on the London stage. Something I could not possibly repeat here for fear of getting banned!
In 1959, Russ and Bev are moving to the suburbs after the tragic death of their son and have sold their house to the neighbourhood’s first black family.
Decades later, the roles are reversed when a young white couple buys the lot in what is now a predominantly black neighbourhood, signalling a new wave of gentrification. In both instances, a community showdown takes place – are the same issues festering beneath the floorboards fifty years on? Short answer: yes.
Oliver Kaderbhai directs a fabulous cast; Michael Fox (Downton Abbey), Andrew Langtree (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole), Richard Lintern (My Night with Reg), Katie Matsell (Museum of Austerity), Aliyah Odoffin (Everything I Know About Love), Imogen Stubbs (Honour) and Eric Underwood (Royal Ballet).
A great revival of a great play. Deserves all the 5-star reviews that have showered it.
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