Unusual Stories, Unusually Told

Clubbed Thumb are at the forefront of contemporary American theatre, commissioning, developing, and producing new plays. The rules are that the plays must be 90 minutes maximum and must be funny, provocative and strange. This outstanding collection of seven plays clearly reflects this. The shadows of Tracy Letts and Sam Shepard are clear, but each is wildly different in themes and ideas. All of them share snappy, fast paced dialogue and, despite the wildly inventive and bizarre scenarios, they are all grounded in a believable reality.

The 7 plays on offer include serial killers, modern day slavery, a bizarre ‘Golden Girls' style piece set in a retirement home in Florida in the 1980s, weather-based apocalypses, a nineteenth century expedition down the Colorado river led by a one-armed captain, a surrealist meta-musical musing on the nature of government and democracy and finally, a mad dash through the impact of time on characters and relationships. Language is, at times, strong but these are vital 21st century works and not for the faint hearted. Each play comes with a fascinating introduction looking at the development of the material with the playwright and artists involved.