This chilling drama - based on David Arnold's novel - has picked up strong critical acclaim. Although it gets off to a slow start, you're advised not to give up on it as it's "unmissable", with "bewitching" performances from Ben-Ryan Davies and Imelda Staunton (pictured).
The following preview courtesy of BBC:
BBC1 delves into the realms of fantasy and the supernatural with Clay, an enigmatic and thought provoking drama based on the novel by award-winning author David Almond.
Set in the early 1960s, Clay tells of an encounter between two boys - 14-year-old Davie Hagan (Harry McEntire) and a mysterious outsider, Stephen Rose (Davies). Davie is an altar boy fresh from church when Stephen first arrives at Crazy Mary's (Staunton). A reject from a seminary, where not even the priests can cope with his strange influence, Stephen quickly dominates his Aunty Mary and soon has Davie in his thrall.
Until Stephen, Davie's life was secure - ordinary but secure - football with Geordie and walks in the park with new girlfriend Maria. The only dark cloud was "Mouldy", the town bully - violent and as big as a man. Davie never wished anyone dead until he fell foul of Martin Mould.
Stephen turns Crazy Mary's garden shed into a workshop where he makes amazing sculptures, life-like works of art, and his gifts don't stop there. If the conditions are right, it seems he can make these creations come to life. Davie is spellbound and moves further and further from safe normality into a world where anything seems possible.
Then one day Stephen kisses him on the cheek and although he passes it off as a joke, they've been seen and word gets around. This is Tyneside in the 1960s - Davie, "the good altar boy", is shunned by enemies and friends alike. Feeling hurt and alone, Davie turns to Stephen and finds his new friend asking him to steal from church, to take the communion elements, "the body and blood". Reluctantly, Davie agrees and although tormented by his actions, hands them over.
In a bizarre ritual the boys then raise a "golem", a creature fashioned from clay, capable of despatching anyone, even Martin Mould. Magic? Surely not - just the product of two fevered imaginations. But then Mouldy winds up dead. The two boys come to blows as Davie has to deal with the awful power they may have unleashed and the perils of getting what you wish for.
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