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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...

Racing with the clock: Tick, Tick... Boom! @BHTse20


Watching Tick, Tick... Boom at the Bridge House Theatre, a play about young thirty-somethings in 1990 makes you realise that if they were alive today, they would be becoming sexagenarians. The passing of time and the struggles of being creative in New York are at the heart of this piece. Now it's over to a new generation to sing about about Jonathan Larson's anxieties about creativity, composition and getting older.

It's made all the more bittersweet given the composer (and lead character Jon), Jonathan Larson died in 1996, six years after this piece is set. His death was also just before his show, Rent would open and become a big success.

Tick, Tick... Boom!  was initially conceived as a solo work for Larson after his struggles to mount a show he was developing. After his death, it was reworked into a three-hander which is the version that we see today.

While there are many musical theatre references, particularly to Sondheim, what’s interesting about the show is how it depicts the struggle to be an artist. And this production brings out the essence of the piece.

As the lead character Jon, Alex Lodge conveys all the anxieties and brashness of new up and coming composer, while making him incredibly likable.

As his best friend Michael, James Hume gives a sensitive and revealing portrayal.

There's one number in the piece, Come To Your Senses, that stops the show towards the end. Georgie Ashford, as an actor in Jon's workshop, delivers a thrilling rendition of this.

The small space of the Bridge House Theatre gives the piece a surprising intimacy. It's a simple yet slick design and setup. Usually, this show comes with a rock band too.  But stripping back the musical accompaniment allows the cast to harmonise without additional amplification. And it helps make the characters seem more real.

Directed by Guy Retallack, Artistic Director of Bridge House Theatre, and music direction by Jamie Ross, Tick, Tick... Boom! Is at Bridge House Theatre until 27 October.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photos by Jamie Scott-Smith

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