Young playwright Ben Clare takes a darkly comic approach to the recession in Greed, premiering at the New Wimbledon Studio next week.

Dan and Emma, swimming in cash from Dan’s work in the city, are planning the perfect wedding, when the financial crisis hits and he is made redundant. Clare’s writing tends to address issues facing young people.

“The last play I wrote was about university students leaving education at the worst possible time – during a recession when jobs were few and far between,” he explains.

“Afterwards, I felt there was still more to say.

“I decided to look at the previous generation, who made lots of money but, suddenly, lost their jobs and everything that went with them.

“There’s a Chinese proverb: Love is blind, and greed is insatiable.

“It really encapsulates what the play is about.

“When their savings begin to dwindle, the couple realise that their whole relationship is built on money. Their worlds revolve around it.

“Finding themselves in trouble, they end up making the wrong decisions and choosing to strike up relationships with the last people they should.

“I wanted the story to come not from a dull, grey, economic point of view, but from the perspective of a couple of individuals.

“There has been so much reporting of facts, figures and unemployment statistics.

“It’s overwhelming for people and it seems very distant.

“Big businesses and banks are intangible.

“It is good to look at people and the effect of the recession on us, so that we can relate to it.

“Whether you’re poor or rich, you can’t get away from the fact that money dominates our lives.”

Shortlisted for the Old Vic New Voices 24 Hour Plays in 2009, Clare is no stranger to topical issues. The Fear, his contribution to last year’s Fresh Ideas season, dealt with surveillance culture.

“Some of the best feedback we received last time was somebody saying they noticed how many security cameras there were walking back to the train station.

“As a playwright, I try to be thought provoking.

“Plays aren’t supposed to lecture you but to make you think.”

Greed, New Wimbledon Studio, The Broadway, March 31-April 3, 7.45pm, £10/£7.50. Call 0844 871 7627 or see ambassadortickets.com/