Review: Clive (Arcola Theatre)

Review by Daz Gale

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London’s Arcola Theatre continues a particularly exciting year for diverse and usually thrilling programming by presenting a new play from the Olivier and BAFTA award-winning playwright Michael Wynne in the world premiere of Clive. With just one man and his cactus, would this play prove to be completely sharp, or would it suffer from being too prickly?

Clive welcomes us into the world of Thomas as he navigates a changing world, leaving the comforts of his office to work from home. Living alone, his only company is that of his cactus, Clive - his closest companion and his source of comfort when things start to take a turn for the worse. As he faces challenges and changes in his work situation, suddenly Thomas’ home doesn’t offer the sanctuary it always has, and an initial calm demeanour paves the way to reveal insecurities, eccentricities and a more volatile character than the initial facade would have the audience believe.

Michael Wynne’s writing offers a timely insight into a situation that has become the new normal in this post-pandemic world. With more people working from home in the past five years, one aspect that has not been discussed is how this severe change has affected people, particularly those that are single and may not have many opportunities to interact with people outside of the office. This allows for a great opportunity to touch on the complexities and contradictions in this situation - something Clive teases throughout.

The problem is, Clive barely scratches the surface. Though the play runs at a speedy 60 minutes, allowing for a pacey affair that never waivers and never comes remotely close to being boring, it also means that the play suffers from a lack of exposition and things moving too quickly. The change in Thomas’ work situation comes suddenly and would have benefited from a slower build-up, while the aftermath of this massive change also suffers from not having enough time to really play out. Wynne’s writing has no shortage of promise, with the character of Thomas always intriguing and offering some rich dialogue - I imagine an opportunity in the future to present a more expanded version of Clive will fill in these gaps, and allow Clive to reach the full potential it came tantalising close to reaching in this first outing.

Lucy Bailey’s direction makes great use of the smaller studio space at the Arcola, with a minimalist and overtly clean stage, brilliantly designed by Mike Britton, allowing for a great use of reveals with the multitude of cupboards hidden behind. Inspired touches such as Thomas dressing from the waist up for his Zoom meetings are a great nod to a situation many of us will be familiar with, while the imagined walls of his apartment are beautifully realised, allowing the performance to stretch beyond the confines of the intimate space, while also signifying the claustrophobic surroundings Thomas finds himself in.

Taking on the role of Thomas is Paul Keating, giving a solid, charismatic and captivating performance. Though the press night performance did feature a couple of calls for his lines, which threatened to lose momentum and prevent the escapism, Keating recovered from these immediately, showcasing his strengths and versatility as an actor. Keating delivers a believable and thrilling portrayal of Thomas, showing his sweetness, vulnerability, loneliness, anxious nature, paranoia, and obsessive qualities in a well-rounded portrayal. Though the play would have benefited from at least another 15 minutes or so tacked on, you wouldn’t know the play was breezing by so rapidly, thanks to Keating’s fantastic characterisation.

Though this is officially a one-man play, Paul Keating isn’t alone on that stage. Sadly, there was no name listed for the cactus playing Clive, though that’s probably just as well as his performance came off a bit stiff, and he came across as a bit of a prick really. (On a side note, the fact that this play manages to go through one hour without a single “prick” joke is a testament to Wynne’s restraints as a writer - clearly I don’t have the same restraint).

As a debut, Clive is an enjoyable production with great writing and an accomplished performance from Paul Keating. Not quite perfect as yet, I couldn’t stop feeling it would benefit from a bit more fleshing out, as this particular story could prove extremely relatable and important for many of us. Having that extra time added on would allow for Wynne to really explore the subjects Clive touches upon, but never quite allows them to breathe as they should. Though it may be a little dry in places, a little bit of love and nurturing will allow Clive to grow in time, and I’m sure it won’t be long before it’s as sharp as it can be.

Clive plays at the Arcola Theatre until 23rd August. Tickets from https://allthatdazzles.londontheatredirect.com/play/clive-tickets

Photos by Ikin Yum