It's cold, damp and made of concrete.

As theatres go, it's not the most sophisticated of venues.

But for dance company Corpus Soma, a multi-storey car park is the perfect stage for their world premiere of a play about the relationship between a man and his car.

For one night only, the top three storeys of the NCP car park in Russell Road, Brighton, will be sealed off and transformed into an artistic arena.

Audience members will meet by the ticket machines and travel by lift to the 14th floor, where they will be ushered into parking bays to watch Michael Neale dancing - with a car.

Against a backdrop of a cinema screen playing images of building sites and traffic, the 27-year-old will perform wearing nothing but a layer of clay and a pair of underpants.

In a more high-brow version of the Herbie films - which starred a Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own - the Volvo will pursue Mr Neale around the car park.

He said: "It might look dangerous but we've spent a long time rehearsing and the car never gets nearer than two or three metres from me.

The car's lights will be flashing and there will be a lot of squealing of tyres, so it will sound fantastic."

Greek-born director Yorgos Bakalos, 33, said the production was inspired by his experience of being a pedestrian in London.

He said: "It's very hard to move about because of all the traffic. A couple of times I've been walking along and cars have come past me so closely I thought I was going to be hit."

He said he decided to dress the protagonist in clay in order to free the audience from their preconceptions.

Mr Bakalos said: "I didn't want to dress him in a suit and everyone think, oh he's a banker' or whatever. I wanted him to be a man everyone could identify with - an archetype."

Among those watching the one-off performance will be NCP team leader Graham Rewell, who said he was intrigued to see his workplace turned into a stage.

He said: "I've been here five years and I've never come across anything like this.

"I think it's a good idea though. They're using the space for something useful."

A few tickets are still available for the play, called Road Safety, which will be performed tonight between 8.30pm and 9.15pm. Tickets are £12 or £10 for concessions and can be purchased at the car park entrance.