We went to see the Melbourne Theatre Company production of Clybourne Park. This relates to events (50 years apart) in the same house in an inner suburb of a US city. In 1959, the couple who are selling are confronted by white neighbours who don't want the house sold of a black family. In 2009, black neighbours object to the house being demolished by a gentrifying white couple. The issues of race and real estate remain constant, but the time gap of 50 years has made a big difference to the way in which the issues are expressed.
The play includes some very funny lines and addresses the underlying themes in an intelligent and credible way. We certainly enjoyed it, notwithstanding a couple of minor reservations on my part (Is bad taste found so much more often in white people? Did the "jokes" towards the end have to be quite so offensive?)
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