CLIVE

He keeps me sane, don’t you Clive? Well maybe not, as I’m talking to a giant cactus.”

Thomas loves working from home. 

He gets to create the whole day just the way he wants it, all the while talking to his friend, a very large cactus called Clive. 

However, when things go wrong with work, his life begins to unravel, and he becomes obsessed with the neighbours outside his window and more and more reliant on his spiky friend. 

Thomas really loves the freedom of working from home, until the structure of his work begins to fall away and the distance from his colleagues no longer feels safe and convenient. But Thomas adores Clive, his larger-than-life houseplant. Surely Clive would never leave him lonely, would he? 

Funny and moving, Clive explores the double-edged nature of technology and the dangers of isolation in modern life. Playwright Michael Wynne cleverly draws on the tension between our need to feel an emotional connection and our reliance on technology to do so.  With the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic still raw in many of our memories, Clive transports us back to that time, a world of enforced isolation and loneliness, confronting us with memories of the impact that it had on our lives, in particular our mental health.  Added to this was the remoteness of those who actually owned organisations and businesses, and the ruthlessness that entailed, including the use ‘wokeness’ as an excuse/basis for firing staff they didn't even know or see!

Clive successfully reunites two-time Olivier nominee Paul Keating with director Lucy Bailey, both back at Arcola Theatre after their smash-hit Kenny Morgan. Paul Keating is exceptional as Thomas and along with  Lucy Bailey’s direction, who manages to keep a delicate balance between realistic detail and surreal expression, allowing Keating to excel and make this play so engaging.  

Go and see it – its definitely not one to miss. 

BOOK TICKETS NOW

Venue details