The Gift at Park Theatre

The first trip back to the theatre in 2025 was to this comedy about friendship, family, obsession and mental health.  A very funny, but intimate three hander in a small space, it can be difficult to hit the right tone to actually make the audience properly laugh and stay believable, but this one got it just right.  Brilliantly written dialogue performed spot on, I really believed in this group of friends/family despite the frantic and overwrought responses that spiral from an unexpected and unwanted ‘gift’. I also loved the way that the excel spreadsheet was given its rightful place as a crucial tool for the obsessive mind.

We had front row seats in the corner which meant that we were side on and slightly behind the action but actually it didn’t affect things too much at all, and we had a better view of what was going on behind the sofa… to be honest that really only came in useful once but still….

I laughed a lot; this is funny and with heart, letting us skate lightly across the surface but showing depths too.  Playing until mid-March this is definitely worth a visit!