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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...

Dangerous liaisons: The Wasp


The Wasp is the perfect antidote to all that Christmas cheer. A tense, psychological thriller with a story that keeps you guessing where it is going to head to next.

It is playing downstairs at the Trafalgar Studios for those who dare to see it.

Written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, the story is about two women who were once school friends, but drifted apart. For good reason. Twenty years on Carla is living hand to mouth, raising four children with a fifth on its way. Heather has a successful career, a husband and a beautiful home. Heather has got in touch with Carla through social media, and with a wad of cash asks her to kill her husband.



And there begins the tale of schoolyard bullying, betrayal and revenge. What is fascinating about the piece is how your sympathies shift as each new piece of information is revealed. Humour also helps to release the tension.

The production gives subtle clues about where things are heading. At one point I found myself thinking that knife is way too big to be just cutting that madeira cake…

The performances by the two leads also add a touch of credibility (and a lot of class) to this piece. MyAnna Burning is Carla. She is a rough, chain smoking pregnant woman with a brutal past. Burning delivers a sympathetic performance of a woman who seems to have moved on from her darker days.

Laura Donnelly is Heather. She is the cold and unfeeling woman, bullied at school to the point of cruelty and delivers a mesmerising portrayal of  a person trapped in the past.


To give anything further away would be cruel. The intimate space of Trafalgar Studios downstairs, the subject matter, and an awful lot of chain smoking (this piece along with Hangmen must hold the current record for the most amount of onstage smoking), adds to the tension.

Social media also plays a key part in the story. As a tool to to stalk former classmates online, it may make you want to check just who you are friends with online when you get home from the theatre. Just in case…

The Wasp is playing at Trafalgar Studios through to 16 January. The production is part of the Hampstead Theatre at the Trafalgar Studios alongside Four Minutes Twelve Seconds by James Fritz. Don’t miss it.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

Photo credits: Production photos by Ikin Yum

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