Most Favoured at Soho Theatre – review

If you’re planning on making David Ireland’s sparky two-hander part of a seasonal night out (and why not, since it’s huge fun, extremely short and playing slap-bang in the middle of Soho), try not to read too much about it beforehand.

Most Favoured is a delicious surprise, a mysterious comedy about a mismatched pair waking up in an Edinburgh Travelodge after a drunken one-night stand during the Festival. It goes from grittily recognisable to literally divine in just 45 minutes, but is more stimulating and satisfying than many plays twice its length.

That’s probably as much as I can tell you without spoilers. The characters are rawly beguiling: Lauren Lyle’s late ‘30s Glaswegian Mary is defensive but warm, eager to talk about the debauched night they’ve just shared, while Alexander Arnold’s Mike, younger and American, is all about the bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken he’s devouring, apparently unaware until now of the existence of this globally enjoyed fast food. That’s an oblique clue as to where Ireland’s play is heading, as are the characters’ names. So is Mike’s reference to “socialist media” (sure, he claims to be from one of the least sophisticated US states – Kansas – but one would expect him to know the term “social media” at least), and his assertion, “I guess I’m not most men”.

Both performances are flawless, detailed and wonderfully alive to every comic, sad and ultimately downright bizarre beat in Ireland’s sparky script. Lyle conveys Mary’s independence and also her touching determination to have a baby at any cost, while Arnold’s goofy, attractive Mike is so laid-back as to be almost horizontal, but also possessing of a rich inner life and an innate goodness. They have a fascinating not-quite-chemistry that is exactly right for this engaging pair.

Max Elton’s production is perfectly paced and winningly funny. It feels so rooted in keen observation and absolute truth that when Ireland’s imagination and his writing take flight into unexpected territory, it still seems plausible, and the audience is more than happy to go along with it.

Most Favoured would perhaps be a richer experience if we were given a little more background and information about Mary; Mike, by contrast, is everything he needs to be. But it’s still a unique, deceptively clever slice of tragicomic entertainment, beautifully done, and ultimately rather more festive than it initially appears. Go…you’ll laugh a lot, but you’ll leave with stuff to mull over, and Lyle and Arnold really are terrific.