Mythical creatures and Much Ado about Tom Hiddleston

Among other things that have enlivened the crawl towards spring this week

Erin Doherty, Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan in Unicorn at the Garrick. Photo: Marc Brenner

Do you believe in unicorns? No, not the horse with the horn, but that almost mythical creature in polyamorous circles - a woman who is enthusiastic about the pursuit of a sexual relationship with both members of an established straight couple.

I know one or two, in fact, but whether I believed in the one at the centre of Mike Bartlett’s new West End play is another matter.

What I’ve seen

The first thing to say is that Unicorn, at the Garrick until April 26, is very entertaining. As it should be, since it’s written by Mike Bartlett, the man behind King Charles III, The 47th, Cock and Dr Foster.

It also stars three really delightful actors: Nicola Walker as poet/lecturer Polly, Stephen Mangan as her lawyer (I think) husband Nick and Erin Doherty as the titular horny horse, Kate - a mature student (aged about 28, so quite a bit younger than her potential lovers) of Polly’s, whom we meet in the first scene in a bar, the two of them dancing around the subject of power and attraction in a way that makes it unclear who started it.

Polly and Nick love each other dearly but are just a bit… bored in their marriage, sexually. The spark has gone (Nick’s mournful suggestion that he might be able to temporarily redirect some blood into the appropriate appendage if Polly’s absolutely desperate is typical of Bartlett’s clever, if wordy script).

Kate is appealingly open-minded, up for anything. I think it’s worth saying here that it’s not prurient or sniggery about the actual concept of threesomes or polyamory or whatever you want to call it - the humour comes from the awkwardness that people feel about physical intimacy and exploring new ways of thinking about it, and how that is confined or not by social structures.

Bartlett’s vibe is always quite mannered - nobody talks like a Mike Bartlett play, just as nobody talks like an Aaron Sorkin movie. It’s very theatrical, and in the hands of brilliant actors like these you feel like you’re in on the joke. But I do think that if it weren’t for those actors and our affection for them, it might land rather heavily. There are bits that are more carthorse than unicorn.

I’m also not sure I believe any of it. Polly is certainly plausible, I’m not sure about Nick - I have thoughts about his behaviour that I can’t talk about because I don’t want to give away crucial plot details, but it’s Kate who is hardest to buy.