Claire
Claire is in her forties and is a priest. She lives in a cottage by the sea with her partner Catriona. Claire runs a community choir in a hall attached to the church where she works. The choir brought together vulnerable people, old people, young people, asylum seekers, immigrant men and women, young mums and so on. In her words, ‘it was multiculturalism’ – representing the rich diversity of her community.
The play follows Claire after a horrific violent attack against the choir. The event, a mass shooting, is unfathomable and it is the search for answers that drives Claire through the story – asking the most difficult question of all, ‘why?’. She tries to understand what could motivate someone to carry out such an atrocity, speaking to a psychologist, the father of the attacker, a journalist, a politician whose ideology inspired the attack and – in the play’s conclusion – the attacker himself (known only as ‘The Boy’ throughout). This quest for answers for the ultimately unexplainable pushes Claire to the brink of reality and reason. Through Claire’s arc, David Greig invites us to reflect on complexities of forgiveness, resilience, and the power of community in times of tragedy.
There is a community choir being created specifically for this production who the actor playing Claire will collaborate with, alongside the other actor playing The Boy. It is desirable that the actor will have musical experience – in playing a choir leader – but this is not essential. This is a central role in an exciting new production of a modern classic.
Height: Any
Gender: Female, Transgender – Female, Non-Binary
Age: Playing Age 40-50
Appearance: Any
Contract type: Equity – ITC
Fee: £573 per week
