The Gift Review

January 28, 2025

The Gift Review

22nd January – 1st March 2025

How would you react if you received an unpleasant package anonymously in the post? Would you a. call the police, or b. question your entire past and every negative interaction you had had, stretching back to childhood? Could the delivery of an object alone prompt the questioning of your entire personality, and would you see this as a curse or turn it into a positive and see it as a much-needed gift?

Nicholas Burns, Laura Haddock and Alex Price star in The Gift, running at Park Theatre until 1st March. A stellar cast, you may instantly recognise Burns from cult classic Nathan Barley, Haddock as playing Will’s love interest in The Inbetweeners Movie and Price from Being Human and Doctor Who, each of them accomplished stage actors with extensive CVs behind them.

“The Gift is a hilarious production, with an exceptional cast”

More often than not, the simplest of ideas are the most effective, and this is no exception. The entire two hours comprises discussions over who could have sent this package, and why, along with learning about the relationships between the characters. Burn’s portrayal of mostly pyjama-clad, ‘grumpy old man’ Colin is outstanding. He is hilarious and subtle in his mannerisms, and as funny on stage as he is on screen. His personality change from sensibly analysing why he might have been sent such an object to giving up and turning into a hermit and seeking Nirvana, is utterly brilliant.

Haddock as Colin’s sister Lisa, and Price as her husband Brian are equally exceptional. The comic timing and chemistry between them and Burns is simply perfect throughout the production, and the audience is with them the whole way. The fight scene is particularly enjoyable.

The script is great – very funny with lots of laugh-out-loud one-liners and plot twists, which keeps the audience engaged. My one and only criticism is that I didn’t feel the character’s personalities throughout the play matched the ending. The way that writer Dave Florez chose to wrap everything up felt unbelievable, based on the previous one hour 55 minutes of soul-searching, and it felt rushed. Ending aside, The Gift is a hilarious production, with an exceptional cast.