Edinburgh Festivals

Visual art 2001

The Gift

John Hudson

Mildly amusing comedy about lovers' angst, with its central idea based loosely around the lyrics of a Velvet Underground song. John is a wimpy insomniac who cannot bring himself to tell his girlfriend, Claire, how much he loves and misses her. Since she moved to Edinburgh, he has been dreaming up her possible infedilities and convincing himself that she is, alas, a 'homo' who wants rid of him. His co-worker and rather more cynical companion, Ben, convinces him that to overcome his pathetic fears and tedious existence as a post office worker, he should post himself in the guise of a mysterious parcel to Claire. This one eccentric gesture, he argues, will not only win Claire's love, but make him a minor celebrity. In short, Ben convinces John that to be truly liberated and in control of his own destiny, he should step into the box and throw himself at the mercy of Fed Ex couriers. This curious paradox holds sway over John and he is parcelled off to Edinburgh with interesting results.

Banter and one-liners flow, somewhat irregularly, through the show. Tom Lister (writer/John) gives a good performance as the nervous and unfulfilled romantic, clutching his childhood teddy bear and descending into self-pitying monologues. Miles Platt (Ben) contrasts this nicely with an upper-middle class arrogance ("Compromise is the most overrated idea in the world") which, combined with floppy hair, gives him a weasel-like quality. By contrast, the female actors seem to get short shrift, with few good lines to rise up to. The stars of the show have to be the delivery men, with sparse but hilarious moments that lift the production at its least interesting points. This well-written dialogue conveys a good philosophical contest between naiive and cynical attitudes to love, though it could benefit from some stern editing. And while the show lags towards the end, the final scene manages to perk things up.

Stills
23 Cockburn Street
Edinburgh