Play name
The Gift
By Dave Florez
Director and Contact Details
Karen O’Neill
Koneill0912@gmail.com or 07799212589
Playing dates
Wednesday 16th June to Sunday 20th June (matinee Saturday 19th June)
Get-in and Strike
13th June; 21st June
Venue
In the bar
Audition
4:00pm Sunday January 10th 2027
About the play
When an anonymous package arrives on Colin’s doorstep, curiosity quickly gives way to obsession. Determined to uncover the sender, he enlists his sister and brother-in-law, only to find that every answer raises new questions and every revelation shines an unexpected light on his own past.
Dave Florez’s clever dark comedy takes an irresistible premise and spins it into something both hilarious and surprisingly moving. Full of sharp dialogue, inventive storytelling and genuine emotional warmth, The Gift reminds us that sometimes the hardest person to forgive is ourselves.
Time
The present day
Location
The kitchen/living room of Colin’s flat in Crouch End (a wealthy, highly sought-after neighbourhood in north London).
Style and Genre
Dark Comedy
Characters
COLIN – neurotic, obsessive he is easily “triggered” and spirals/escalates in situations without recognising how far he has gone down “the rabbit hole” until it is too late.
LISA – Colin’s ultra supportive sister, married to Brian but starting to wonder, and feel uncertain, about her life choices.
BRIAN – Colin’s best friend from university and apparently the most ordinary and stable member of the trio but is driven to extreme behaviour when dealing with Colin’s problems and Lisa’s reaction to them.
All characters are aged between mid-30s to early 40s.
Rehearsals will start with a read through sometime in late March/early April.
Audition Pieces
Colin Page 38: How can I turn this to my advantage … So this is my number two. Of course! That’s the message!
Lisa Page 35: You know when you’re young … that’s where I am.
Brian Page 54: Christ if that happened to me … Tim Berners-Lee.