Review: THE UNICORN, Town and Gown Cambridge
“I’m not a whirlwind of sexual energy, I’m just a very lonely unicorn.”
We had the joy of watching the opening night of Sam Potter’s new play The Unicorn at the Town and Gown in Cambridge, a show that sees a lonely and deeply depressed Andrea find solace and feeling in casual sex, which quickly has her falling down a sex-filled rabbit hole into the world of swinging and sex clubs. Is it because she got fired by work after being the victim of sexual harassment or because of a more deep routed past trauma that this happens? Or is this just a part of who she is? You’ll have to watch to find out.
Georgina Fairbanks portrays the role of Andrea with a purposeful cold detachment and you can see a women suffocating in a numbness that these parties only alleviate for a short period of time. Due to this detachment, it takes a while to warm to the character and maybe a few more lighter retorts or moments earlier on would make it easier for the audience to be on side with Andrea quicker. Whilst we don’t think Andrea is meant to come across as an inherently likeable character, there still needs to be the slightest of sparks there to get the audience on side sooner with her journey. Fairbanks is clearly a talented and thoughtful performer and in time, will sit far more comfortably within this challenging role.
The direction from Anthony Greyley is enjoyable and well paced, though it is slightly safe for a show of this subject matter. The audience are a fly on the wall during some pretty descriptive sex club scenes yet we never felt that feeling of wanting to look away and be in any other room but that one, but also helplessly glued to our seat, which is something slightly needed for a show like this. The show needs to make the highs higher and the lows lower so that both can hit home a lot harder.
The set is simple yet perfectly utilised and gives you everything you need for this story, It is enjoyable the way the lights are used to represent the glare of the TV or the numerous nerve-racking parties Andrea is about to enter.
The writing from Sam Potter is captivating and paints a vivd picture. Potter clearly has a talent for weaving together a script heaped with subtext which, for actor and audience, is an absolute treat to explore. We will certainly be looking out for more of her work in the future and we would love to watch this show again further into its run.
The show is really enjoyable, it’s a fantastic subject matter for a play and with some tweaking and heightening, Ox Productions are on to an absolute winner.
Unicorns are a rare find and this play has the potential to be so too. A must see at this year’s fringe.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: James Edge
The Unicorn plays at the Pleasance Courtyard from 3-29 August, with tickets available here.
