Rory Mullarkey’s new play Pity at the Royal Court Theatre asks whether things really are getting worse – and if we actually care.

“Two bombs in one day is a foul coincidence.” “Don’t forget the lightning strike.”

A normal day. A person stands in the market square watching the world go by. What happens next verges on the ridiculous.

There’s ice cream. Sunshine. Shops. Some dogs. A wedding. Bombs. Candles. Blood. Lightning. Sandwiches. Snipers. Looting. Gunshots. Babies. Actors. Azaleas. Famine. Fountains. Statues. Atrocities. And tanks. (Probably).

Rory Mullarkey returns to the Royal Court with Pity, following on from his debut at the Sloane Square venue with The Wolf From The Door in 2014. In the same year, he was awarded the George Devine Award, the Pinter Commission, and the James Tait Black Prize for Drama.

Director Sam Pritchard heads up Pity. His previous work for the Royal Court includes Grimly Handsome and B. Paul Bentall, Sandy Grierson, Helena Lymbery, Sophia Di Martino, Siobhan McSweeney, Francesca Mills, Abraham Popoola, Paul G Raymond and Dorian Simpson form the show’s cast.