Peter Clements and Annabel Smith in The Shitheads [Camilla Greenwell]

JACK Nicholls’ audacious debut play The Shitheads opens with two “early human beings”, Clare (Jacoba Williams) and Greg (Jonny Khan), about to kill an elk – artfully designed by Finn Caldwell and brought to life by puppetry captain Scarlett Wilderink.

The butchery is viscerally conveyed in the Royal Court’s studio space.

Set in prehistoric Britain, there are two types of humans: the shitheads, who wander the land with the changing seasons, and the smug cave-dwellers who believe they’re the smart ones for staying put. Both speak a child-like, contemporary vernacular.

Clare lives underground with her tyrannical, brooding father Adrian (Peter Clements) and hyperactive younger sister Lisa (Annabel Smith).

Anna Reid’s evocative cavern mixes drawing-room lamps, adornments made of skulls and a working hearth.

Debates and meditations follow on who is the superior tribe and who the outsider.

Nicholls explores our naivety in the face of environmental change, the instinct for survival, and the desire for knowledge – expressed here through storytelling as a means of understanding the world – laying bare the savage violence of humans against nature and each other.

When Greg’s wife Danielle (Ami Tredrea) arrives at their home with her puppet baby, a battle for one-upmanship ensues, with violent and unexpected consequences.

Nicholls explores his subject with dark humour. The play would benefit from a judicious trim, but vivid characterisation, clever staging and Alex Fernandes’ evocative lighting elevate the production.

The actors give committed performances. Exuberantly co-directed by Aneesha Srinivasan and David Byrne, The Shitheads heralds a fiery new writing talent.

Until March 14
royalcourttheatre.com/