THE award-winning playwright David Ireland has been increasingly vocal about his conversion to Christianity five years ago, and his recent baptism. It has unmistakeably informed his recent writing, including the hit play The Fifth Step, which looked at the place of faith and self-belief in two men’s journey away from alcoholism.
Now the Soho Theatre has revived a delightful curiosity of a play from 2012, and it reveals that he was fascinated by Christian themes even in his earliest work. Most Favoured is set in a budget hotel in Edinburgh as morning dawns after a one-night stand. Mary can talk of nothing except the joy of the previous night’s sex, and she is baffled by the fact that Michael is more obsessive about the Kentucky Fried Chicken that he is eating for breakfast.
Over the course of 50 minutes, one surprise after another reveals that the liaison is not as it first appeared. It is difficult to discuss the twists and turns without spoilers. Nevertheless, when a play about conception is programmed at Christmas and the characters have been given New Testament names, readers of the Church Times will have no trouble guessing which story is being referenced — or, rather, reinvented, because although Jesus came 20 centuries ago “as a lamb, this time he’s coming as a lion”.
The concept is fascinating, and its lasting impact is that it invites the audience to consider the biblical Mary not as a mythological figure, but as an actual young woman with emotions and hopes. And it intriguingly dares to investigate what it might be like to be an angel. This tall tale is kept from whimsy by two detailed and effortlessly comic performances by Lauren Lyle and Alexander Arnold (familiar faces from television in Karen Pirie and Skins respectively). She hides her secrets behind quickfire repartee until accepting the truth cracks her open with joy. He is a bundle of glibness and naïvety, which is frustrating until it slowly becomes clear that he has not just arrived from America, but from somewhere different altogether. The dialogue fizzes, and it is impossible not to become invested.
The bland colours of Ceci Calf’s set make it instantly recognisable as a Travelodge bedroom and provoke the first laugh of the evening when the curtains draw back to reveal a brick wall. Amy Daniels’s lighting captures the morning after the night before, and includes a surprise that gives the final laugh of the evening. The director, Max Elton, succeeds in taking the audience on a credible journey by making space to hint at serious themes amid the laughter-inducing impossibility of it all. The idea that angels are responsible for making humans feel loved, but are appearing on earth less frequently because faith is diminishing, is both convincing and eventually uplifting. It drove me back to the Bible, determined to read it with more imagination. I loved it!
Most Favoured by David Ireland runs at the Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1, until 24 January. Box office: phone 020 7478 0100. sohotheatre.com
