Lauren Lyle as Mary and Alexander Arnold as Mike in Most Favoured [Danny Kaan]

MOST FAVOURED
Soho Theatre
3 stars

PRESENTED as “the perfect theatrical starter for a festive night on the town,” David Ireland’s one-act, 45-minute play offers a sly twist on the nativity’s conception myth.

Ireland is known for his darker comedies – Cyprus Avenue and Ulster American – and, more recently, The Fifth Step. Most Favoured is a slighter, lighter piece with a mischievous religious conceit at its heart.

It begins prosaically in a Travelodge hotel room during the Edinburgh Festival. Wrapped in a towel, Glaswegian lass Mary (Lauren Lyle) looks mightily pleased with herself as she claims she’s just had the best sex of her life.

Her one-night stand, Mike (Alexander Arnold), an American tourist from Indiana, is more interested in consuming and rhapsodising over the bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken he’s just bought.

Mike spends most of the play in white boxers. We learn that Mary, approaching 35 and desperate for a baby, has started regularly sleeping with strangers. Yet Mike, she tells him, inexplicably made her feel loved. The reason for his effect on her is the play’s central reveal.

Though it lacks the complexity of Ireland’s more substantial plays, this wry look at faith, intimacy and loneliness is beautifully acted and deftly paced by Max Elton. A charming appetiser for the season.

Until January 24
sohotheatre.com