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Searching undeterred: The Gift @ParkTheatre

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I recently had a few parcels go missing from where I live. The first parcel disappeared without a trace. The second parcel's contents were removed, and the box was left alone in the lobby. It's one of the things that you have to put up with living in central London. Apart from complaining to the delivery company and filing a police report, it crossed my mind to think about what would happen if I sent myself something rather unpleasant for a future parcel thief to open up. Well, Dave Florez's new work, The Gift, is in this line of thinking, except that the lead receives an anonymous gift of a turd in the mail rather than sending it to himself. It is lovingly gift-wrapped in a cake box from a posh north London bakery. It's a fascinating and hilarious three-hander currently playing at Park Theatre .  Colin (Nicholas Burns) is a little obsessive at the best of times. He doesn't let things drop quickly and is obsessed with the details behind anything and everythi...

Nasty boys: Gentlemen @Arcolatheatre


It's a tough life in an elite university. If you thought college was a place for caring, understanding, nurturing and tuition, you might be in for a big surprise. In Matt Parvin's Gentlemen, it's the latest battleground for the culture wars. Everything is a score to be settled with sanctimony, mind games or both. Everything is about fitting in or resisting all attempts to conform. It's currently playing at the Arcola Theatre. 

The premise is that Greg (Charlie Beck) is meeting with the college welfare officer, Timby (Edward Judge). Kaspar (Issam Al Ghussain) has alleged bi-phobic comments about his sexual orientation. Greg is also potentially up for charges of assault. 


Both freshmen, the hormones and the anger race as fast as their minds. Soon, the concept of right and wrong, fitting in or being an individual, gets into many grey areas. Will an example be set of loudmouth Greg from a struggling background, or will he be given one last chance? Each takes turns pleading their case (or manipulating) Timby. And he seems sincere yet impotent. 

It's a tightly written piece, with the scenes moving between one character and the next. You also get some sense of the pressure facing young people to study, to succeed, to fit in or not with its perverse results. And while kudos for featuring a bi character, it's not the most positive depiction of bi-inclusion. 

The cast does well, perhaps too well, at creating this insular world where outrage or fitting in seems to be the only two paths to follow and where common ground seems elusive. 

And perhaps that's the point of the play. We're running out of safe places to learn and reflect. And that appeasing the polarised is not particularly satisfying. Whether you find it an enjoyable piece of theatre might depend on where your sympathies lie. I settled on the two boys being two little shits, so I remained ambivalent about the piece's politics and arguments.

Directed by Richard Spier and written by Matt Pravin, Gentlemen plays at The Arcola through to 28 October. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 



Production photos by Alex Brenner

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