This new play’s press night at the Bush played out against the drone of police helicopters, on duty for the appearance of Nick Griffin, leader of the British National party, at the BBC’s television studio just down the road. It was distracting but oddly appropriate, given that Nick Payne’s drama is all about split focuses and conflicting priorities. In essence, Payne deals with the problem of climate change, but he comes at it from an interesting angle: he asks just how we balance the immensity of that problem with the more immediate calls of daily life. And his play has a most attractive warmth and wit about it.

The focus of the play is Anna: a truculent, miserable, overweight 15-year-old. Mum is a teacher: caring but distracted. Dad is an ecology lecturer, completely absorbed in writing his book on climate change. He is trying to save the earth for his daughter’s future but can’t quite be there for her present. So when Anna gets into trouble at school, having hit back at a bully, she turns to her charming but feckless uncle for companionship. He bonds with the troubled teenager but fails to realise how deeply she feels about him.

Payne’s drama joins a wave of new works, most notably Polly Stenham’s That Face, that put teenagers centre stage. He pinpoints painfully well the agony of the inappropriate crush. But his contrasting of Anna’s fragile passage into adulthood with her parents’ anxieties about the bigger picture makes this a thoughtful piece. It is also often funny and is sympathetically handled in Josie Rourke’s poignant production.

Ailish O’Connor gives a touching, raw performance as Anna and is particularly impressive in her attempted suicide scene. Rafe Spall meanwhile is a complete joy as the reckless, charismatic Uncle Terry. His expression when he learns that Anna headbutted her tormentor is a treat, and he makes a funny and convincing drunk. But he also lets you see the heartache and fear under all the insouciance. There is a nice, understated performance too from Pandora Colin as Anna’s mother.

The play is too long and Payne too keen on unfinished sentences as a device, while Michael Begley brings too many mannerisms to the boffin father. But this is a promising play from a young playwright.

Tel +44 20 8743 5050