Clybourne Park

Synopsis

Clybourne Park follows hot on the heels of ENRON and Jerusalem both of which also transferred from the Royal Court becoming landmark theatrical events of 2010.

Hailed ‘Shockingly Entertaining’ and ‘Appallingly funny’, Clybourne Park explores the ever contentious themes of race and property ownership from two time periods – 1959 and 2009 and leaves the audience asking whether the issues festering beneath the floorboards are actually the same despite the 50 year time difference.

In 1959 Russ and Bev are selling their desirable two-bed at a knock-down price. This enables the first Black family to move into the neighbourhood, creating ripples of discontent amongst the cosy white urbanites of Clybourne Park. In 2009, the same property is being bought by Lindsey and Steve whose plans to raze the house and start again is met with a similar response. Are the issues festering beneath the floorboards actually the same fifty years on?

Bruce Norris’ satirical play explores the fault line between race and property. Clybourne Park first opened at the Playwrights Horizons in New York in February 2010. His previous credits include The Pain and the Itch (Royal Court, 2007), The Infidel, Purple Heart and The Unmentionables.

Winner of the 2011 Olivier Award, The South Bank Award, The Critics Circle Awards and the Evening Standard Award for Best new play, the cast includes Sophie Thompson (Four Weddings and a Funeral) and Whatsonstage.com award nominee Stephen Campbell Moore.

The Wyndhams Theatre season is strictly limited to make sure you secure your Clybourne Park tickets today

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 9 February 2011

American playwright Bruce Norris’ satirical racialist drama Clybourne Park – such a big hit at the Royal Court last year, and already named Best Play by the Evening Standard and the Critics’ Circle – does not seem such a big deal, after all, in its transfer to Wyndham’s.

Maybe it’s just one of those plays you don’t need to see a second time. Maybe it wasn’t really that funny first time around. Maybe there’s nobody famous in it. And the conceit of having a second act set fifty years later in the same 1959 Chicagoan bungalow is not all that innovative.

The dead Korean veteran whose parents are torn apart in the first act returns at the end of the play, to haunt premises appropriated by a black ghetto after the white “ruling party” checked out.

But similar social consequences have been addressed far more imaginatively, in parallel circumstances, by [Tom...

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Latest User Review

Michael Peters - 25 April 2011:

“What does a white woman and a tampon have in common?” goes the “killer joke” in Act II of Bruce Norris’s fascinating play that examines racial tensions in America, circa 1959 and 2009. This and other razor sharp jokes brought vividly to life the bubbling racism, which was direct and in your face during Act I, but kept deliberately brewing under the surface during Act II of Clybourne Park at the Wyndham’s theatre. I found the play by turns hilarious, shocking and tension filled as it dissected racial tensions surrounding the sale of Russ and Bev’s home in white, middle class suburbia to a black couple. Underpinning this major event is the even bigger, more personal crisis the couple are going through. The emotional difficulty in coping with the anguish of their soldier son’s death. This issue whilst not the main story, is nonetheless a key component of the story. The play was set in Chicago, but considering the familiar issues explored, it could just as easily have been London or anywhere else in England. In the second half the racial issues remain, but the significant difference is that is set 50 years ahead, in 2009 and in a predominantly black area. Now, a middle class black couple are in a position of power and are considering the application from a white couple looking to move into their neighbourhood. The same cast return adopting different roles, subtly skirting around racial issues until they can no longer keep up the facade and gradually their underlying racial and sexist tensions come out via the guise of telling ever more racist, sexist and crude jokes. These are directed at stereotypes of black men and culminate in the jaw dropping “what does a white woman and a tampon have in common?” joke that literally brings the action to a standstill and for the audience, results in a massive sharp intake of breath at the gobsmackingly blunt punch line. I imagine a certain Frankie Boyle would have been absolutely delighted if he had penned this joke himself. It was ironic, that for a play examining racial tensions, there was a near total absence of non-white theatre goers in the audience. There can’t have been more than 20 black people (less than 3% of the 750 capacity Wyndham Theatre) in attendance on my night. Whilst this is nothing unusual for a regular West End play, considering the subject matter that’s quite surprising and a little disappointing. I would have to say this would appear to be deliberate on the part of the Playwright and Theatre and can be explained by two key factors. Firstly, the £40-50 average ticket price* (higher than the £35 2009 average west end show price) for seats in the stalls put the play financially out of reach for many and secondly, the total absence of marketing of the play to black audiences through black media and other relevant avenues, didn’t help in this regard. Whilst it’s an excellent, intelligent play and extremely well acted, for all its award winning accolades and reviews, I didn’t find it quite lived up to the hype. For a start, the shrill, loud, put on, Southern American accent of Bev (ex- bunny boiler Stella from Eastenders) was irritating in the extreme and something that could have been toned down without weakening the effectiveness of her character in anyway. The opening of both the First and Second Act’s were also slow to get going, but once they sprung to life, they did so in no uncertain terms, with all the excitement , tension and anticipation of watching a group of middle-distance runners suddenly step up the pace as they jostle for best position, with the finishing line ahead. A fine play from Bruce Norris that people will be talking about for some considerable time. Clybourne Park runs until 7th May 2011 * 10 pairs of top price tickets are available daily to personal callers only for just £10. It's best to arrive by 9am as the tickets tend to sell out as soon as the box office opens at 10am. ...

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