8.94°C With his latest play, Unicorn, having just opened in the West End, now feels like a good time to revisit Mike Bartlett’s 2013 play about incendiary office politics and bullying. Three young businesspeople await the arrival of their boss, and one of them will get the chop. From the outset, it’s clear that it will be Thomas who has made such a poor impression that people have difficulty remembering his name. Mesh’s production observes the instruction to keep the staging bare, with a performance square that gives proceedings a boxing-ring feel and lighting to indicate surging rage. With its long pauses, it initially feels like a cross between The Apprentice and Godot, but at a brisk 55 minutes, it is a slight piece. It ends just as it gets going, and since the outcome is signalled so strongly, for me, it lacked dramatic tension.
However, the cast serves the play very well. Rob Ostlere is very affecting as Thomas, worry and anxiety etched deeply on his face as he endures toxic bullying from his colleagues. Rebecca Blackstone is a cool, acid Isobel whose lies and truths become so mixed that we cannot believe a word she says. Rilwan Abiola Owokoniran is a powerful presence as alpha male Tony, whose sculpted torso is used to dominate proceedings and mock Thomas’s body. As soon as Tim Frances enters as boss Carter, it is clear who is in charge, with his Lord Sugar attitude and powerful voice overriding even the smallest defence or objection from Thomas. One would like to think this kind of bullying is archaic now, but sadly, it is still very prevalent.
A red light builds as Thomas’s inner rage threatens to spill out, and Sally Woodcock’s confident direction pitches the play perfectly. However, it felt a little dated, and the stakes could have been raised even higher. It’s also difficult to feel any sympathy for such obnoxious characters, and the short running time allows no space for revelations of behaviour or explanations of character. But that’s not really the point of the piece – it’s more successful as a cool, detached examination of toxic cultures.
The show runs at the Mercury until Saturday 22 February – tickets are available.
Paul T. Davies
