The Arcola Theatre will host the world premiere of Clive, a brand-new play from Olivier and BAFTA Award-winning writer Michael Wynne, running from 30 July to 23 August 2025.
Directed by Lucy Bailey, Clive stars two-time Olivier Award nominee Paul Keating in the title role. The production reunites Keating and Bailey following their acclaimed collaboration on Kenny Morgan at the same venue.
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. He becomes obsessed with the neighbours outside his window and increasingly reliant on his spiky companion.
At once funny and moving, Clive explores the double-edged nature of technology and the dangers of isolation in modern life.
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In this intimate and funny portrait of an ordinary life, playwright Michael Wynne draws on the tension between our need to feel emotional connection and our reliance on technology to do so.
Thomas relishes the freedom of working from home, until the structure of his work falls 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?
Clive examines, with humour and sensitivity, how in this hyper-connected time we can feel lonelier than ever.
As Thomas’s programming job slips through his fingers, he clings to the support of his loyal friend Clive—but can you really hold on to a huge spiny cactus?
Michael Wynne’s previous work includes The Priory (Olivier Award for Best Comedy), The Knocky (Meyer Whitworth Award), and Sell Out (Time Out Theatre Award). His screen credits include My Summer of Love, Sugar Rush, and Lapland.
Paul Keating received Olivier nominations for Tommy and Closer to Heaven, and has starred in Little Shop of Horrors, Tick, Tick… Boom!, and The Full Monty. At Arcola, he previously played the title role in Kenny Morgan.
Lucy Bailey’s directing credits include Witness for the Prosecution (London’s County Hall), Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare’s Globe), and Murder on the Orient Express, which recently toured the UK and will next travel internationally.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
