Dealing With Clair: psychological horror for the present

Estate agent Clair is helping Mike and Liz, a young couple in London, sell their house. They claim they want to act “honourably” and take the first offer to meet their asking price, yet it soon becomes clear that money is too much of a temptation and they are willing to go to whatever lengths to get the best price. Prospective buyer, James, is keen to buy the house and ready to pay in cash. Yet he’s bizarrely fascinated with Clair, insisting on dealing exclusively with her and eager to see the house, and Clair, as many times as possible.

There are so many facets to the subtle psychological horror of Dealing With Clair that it’s difficult to unpack. James’s obsession with Clair is clearly sinister, but at the same time there is a vicious undertone to Mike and Liz’s casual ruthlessness. Crimp creates a sense of unease that builds up as the play progresses. It’s pervasive, yet you can never put your finger on exactly the root of your discomfort. Genuinely unsettling writing is hard to achieve and it’s a testament to Crimp’s skill that he does it so easily.

Fly Davis’s set is perfect for this play. The action takes place in a rectangular box of transparent gauze, with the audience on all 4 sides in a relatively small space. It gives you the impression that you are looking into the lives of the characters: something that comes to have an eerie significance later on in the play. The cast certainly don’t let down the staging. Lizzy Watts starts off a little stilted in the opening scene but really grows into her character as the play progresses, bringing an innocent charm to titular character Clair. She captures the matter-of-fact pleasantness that comes with her work, whilst hinting at more complex emotions below the surface. Michael Gould is excellent as James, bringing superficial charm, with a clear undertone of something sinister.

There are flaws to be sure. Anna, Mike and Liz’s teenaged au pair, sometimes seems out of place as a character. She clearly exists to emphasize the unscrupulousness of the couple, exploiting this 17 year-old from Italy as a babysitter who is given ‘spending money’ in lieu of a salary. But really, Anna as a character adds little to the play and you can’t help but wonder if there weren’t other ways to emphasize Mike and Liz’s underhandedness, or even whether this emphasis is necessary.

Despite being written more than 30 years ago, Dealing with Clair feels weirdly topical and often all too real: definitely a must-watch for any fan of psychological horror.

-4 stars