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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...

Sold out theatre: Abigail's Party

Thanks to the nimble efforts of @FerozeIyer, I found myself with a ticket to Abigail's Party, the latest sell-out show at the Menier Chocolate Factory. We went for the full Abigail experience which included '70s themed dining while being entertained by people queueing for returns in desperation to get a ticket. While the amusing menu served as a reminder why heart disease features prominently in this piece, I suspect the joke was on us for eating it.

F4F81A57-40FB-4393-8F80-B9B36250E0C4It is a wonderful production of Mike Leigh's play with and excellent cast. The star of the show is really the authentic recreation of suburbia 1970s, which for both Feroze and I brought back happy memories of our childhood - complete with leather look lounges. The cast which includes Jill Halfpenny as party host extraordinaire Beverly and Joe Absolom as Tony.

The story is fairly straight forward. They drink, they smoke, they drink, they argue. They drink some more, smoke some more and argue more. What its all about and the point of it all is another matter but it is very funny. It also serves as a reminder that you don't have to watch Mad Men for a retro fix.
You can register on their website for interest in an extension to the season or a possible west end transfer. The production deserves a longer outing. Current run is scheduled to end 21 April.

The views of well fed and front row passive smokers are as follows...
listen to ‘Party boo: Abigail's Party’ on Audioboo

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