Park Theatre
Playing until 1st March 2025
Photo credit: Rich Southgate
{AD-PR Gifted}
Kitchen setting
Beam of light on ‘The Gift’
What do you do when someone sends you a turd in the post? The Gift may not provide an answer, but it certainly takes us on a wild ride. With some cack-handed moments and missed opportunities, though it may not deliver on the existentialism, Dave Florez’s new play is certain to entertain a wide range of audience members.
Colin (Nicholas Burns) has an obsessive personality. He’s the kind of guy who either cuts people off or gets cut off. So, when he receives this particular gift, he goes down a rabbit hole of introspection, personal grudges and wrongdoings, taking his sister Lisa (Laura Haddock) and brother-in-law Brian (Alex Price) with him.
Given that this is an ‘irreverent comedy’, what initially strikes me with this production is, sadly, the predictability of the delivery of the text. The premises and punchlines of jokes often come as no surprise to the audience and the comedic value of the content feels all-too-familiar with the cast. Adam Meggido’s direction could use a lighter touch, especially as Florez’ wit would clearly blossom with a dry delivery. The second half, however, was much stronger, showcasing great comedic skill from the cast paired with impressive physical humour and cracking lines. The audience’s laughter was palpably unbridled, especially as Colin’s erraticism increases.
It is clear that the production boasts a talented cast that have a symbiotic, focused energy that maintains a healthy pace and momentum throughout. Despite an exclamatory first half, Burns shines as Colin, conveying a character that is as troubled and enigmatic as he is strangely endearing with aplomb. Price makes an excellent foil with heaps of fruity sarcasm and a strong stage presence, balanced out by Haddock’s grounded and bewildered Lisa.
Though the inciting incident is a turd in the mail, the play manages to avoid feeling silly or childish. Florez does sow a few seeds for deeper philosophical reflection, such as some subtle nods to determinism, nihilism and the ‘Circle of Life’. Apart from an odd recycling metaphor that didn’t land, Florez successfully weaves these notions into the subtext of the play without committing the common mistake of spoon-feeding the audience for fear of them ‘not getting it’. That being said, the lack of a resolution in the narrative leaves these concepts un-interrogated and unresolved. As a result, we feel robbed of catharsis. Sure, this could be a deliberate (and rather clever) choice in the context of another play, but given that the dominant genre here is a sit-com-esque comedy, it doesn’t quite work in the same way.
The Gift has heaps of promise. There are moments where writing, production and cast combine to produce hints of magic on stage; however, cast performances could have been improved with more subtle direction and a dryer delivery.
Creatives
Writer: Dave Florez
Director: Adam Meggido
Designer: Sarah Perks
Lighting Designer: David Howe
Composer and Sound Designer: Amanda Priestly
Casting Director: Abby Galvin
Fight Director: Dan ‘DJ’ Johnson
Producer: Andrew Keatley
Co-Producers: Antony Eden and Rhiannon Handy
Comments