Belong, Royal Court / The Man with the Disturbingly Smelly Foot/ How to Think the Unthinkable, Unicorn Theatre, London, review Bola Agbaje's new play Belong, set in both England and Nigeria, is sharp, funny, touching and, finally, disturbing. There is only one problem. Unless you are extremely good at suspending your incredulity, it is hard to believe a word of it. The leading character, Kayode, is a Nigerian immigrant with a British passport who has just been defeated in his attempt to become an MP. Stung by a newspaper headline that said "Can you trust an African?" he turned on his own supporters, telling them to "get off their lazy -----" and describing them as "dumb, illiterate monkeys." He was, says his wife, perceived as a "pompous, stuck-up coconut," that eloquent slang term in the black community for someone who has "sold out" to white values. The dramatist never satisfactorily explains why Kayode should have made such a disastrous miscalculation, but soon he is off to visit his old mum in Nigeria, ostensibly for a rest, though soon he is standing in elections there, too, campaigning against a corrupt tribal elder. In a scene set in the local market, he compares himself to Obama and promises new hope for the country. None of this feels remotely plausible, and the creaky plotting undermines the dramatist's attempt to depict the corruption, violence and graft that pollute Nigerian politics. Indhu Rubasingham directs a sparky production, however, with sprightly performances from Lucian Msamati, who memorably suggests the fatal lack of savvy in the aspiring politician, Noma Dumezweni as his understandably infuriated wife, Jocelyn Jee Esien as a pushy friend and Pamela Nomvete as Kayode's deliciously plump and eccentric mother. Unfortunately, even these fine actors cannot disguise the dodgy storyline. I don't wish to sound patronising, but the playwright might profit from a visit to the Unicorn Theatre, which specialises in work for children and teenagers. Its profile has been low in recent years, but with the appointment of new artistic director Purni Morell, formerly in charge of the enterprising National Theatre Studio, that could soon change. The Unicorn is presenting lively, hour-long versions of two plays by Sophocles, a man who really understood how a good plot works. Nancy Harris's adaptation of Philoctetes, here subtitled The Man with the Disturbingly Smelly Foot, is particularly fine, full of clever jokes and a strong moral framework as the young Neoptolemus is forced by Odysseus to trick Philoctetes (who has a suppurating pedal extremity) into handing over his magical bow and arrow. Ellen McDougall's modern-dress production proves witty and touching, with a wonderful comic turn from Alex Austin as the bewildered Neoptolemus. His gift for gormless, good-hearted comedy reminded me of the young Nicholas Lyndhurst. Ryan Craig's adaptation of Antigone, How to Think the Unthinkable, is more routine, though it is admirably lucid and undoubtedly grips the young audience. And the cunning plots of both these ancient but freshly presented dramas are an object lesson in how to craft a satisfyingly constructed play.