Opening this week at Park Theatre is ‘The Gift’, a fast paced comedy by acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Dave Florez. I’m sure it will have an excellent script, and it’s also got a brilliant creative team involved, including director Adam Meggido. 

I wanted to find out more about what to expect from the show – which stars an impressive cast, by the way – so I spoke to Dave ahead of opening night. 

CM: Can you start by telling us a bit about the content of the show? Who is it about and where does the narrative take us? 
DF: ‘The Gift’ is a fast paced three-hander comedy about a man called Colin who receives an unexpected delivery from his local patisserie – which turns out to be very much not a cake.

As he spirals into paranoia, it’s down to his sister and best mate to save him from the abyss. But who did send him this – and why? And is it ever a good idea to rifle through one’s past in search of an answer?

CM: What themes are explored through the play?  
DF: Ultimately, it’s a play about forgiveness – particularly of one’s self – and trying to find a better path forward.

It’s about closure on the past, and learning to look at the future with optimism, and without fear. Along the way it explores the nature of paranoia, self-doubt, friendship and tasty pastries.

CM: What was the inspiration for it? What made you want to write this story?
DF: I often get that creeping sense of dread in the middle of the night. I think it comes as you get older. I wanted to write a play that really grappled with the essence of that – but in a funny way.

One that made these huge themes of mental anguish, paranoia and self-worth palatable and digestible. And what better way than by having the main character receive a particularly distasteful anonymous package?

What does it mean? Who is it from? The mystery acts as a gateway into the deeper conflicts lurking beneath. And it also begs the audience to ask themselves: What the hell would I do if I received a package like this?

CM: And what would you do if you got a horrible delivery like the one in the play?
DF: Unfortunately, I would react exactly like Colin; with probably fewer quips and even more swear words.

CM: So do you identify with the characters you’ve written? Are they like you?
DF: I absolutely identify with all of them. In fact, I’d say they each represent three different sides of my personality: rational, irrational and downright silly. I’ll let you decide which character is which.

I would hope everyone can see a bit of themselves in Colin, Lisa and Brian. Thing is, we’d all like to think we would react in a cool and collected manner. Perhaps phone the police, or simply chuck it in the bin. But the reality is, we would never know unless it happened – and by then of course it’s too late.

I identify completely with Colin’s wavering sense of self; riding high one minute, flagellating the next. I purged a lot of demons writing this…
 
CM: Can you tell us a bit about the cast and creative team involved in the show?
DF: Adam Meggido of ‘Showstopper’ fame, and director of ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’, is the director.

The cast is Nicholas Burns from ‘Nathan Barley’, Laura Haddock from ‘Inbetweeners’ and Alex Price from ‘Harry Potter And The Cursed Child’. We have a fantastic creative team, ably led by producer Andrew Keatley.

CM: Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Did you always want to write? What steps did you take to begin a career?
DF: I always wrote, acted and produced my own stuff. But after graduating from Lamda, I joined the Royal Court Young Writers’ Programme and it sort of went from there.

I took a detour doing stand-up on the London circuit – not to brag, but I was once Reading New Act Of The Year finalist, so… – and after winning a Fringe First up at Edinburgh Festival, I managed to get plays on at Arcola and Hampstead Theatre.

That then got me seen at BBC Writersroom, etc… It’s a painstakingly slow snowball, rolled by a dung beetle, uphill…

CM: What would you say have been the highlights of your career thus far?
DF: Other than ‘The Gift’ at the Park Theatre with a cast and crew to die for… it’s probably adapting my Hampstead Theatre play ‘Experience’ into the feature film ‘Embers’, with the incredibly talented Christian Cooke at the helm. That got us nominated for Best UK Feature at Raindance Film Festival.

CM: What aims and ambitions do you have for the future?
DF: I’d love to write a dark and gritty four-part drama, so if there’s anyone out there…?

CM: What’s coming up next for you after this?
DF: I’ve got a feature film and a sitcom in development; as well as a couple of stage plays. Just continuing to roll that snowball…

‘The Gift’ is on at Park Theatre from 22 Jan-1 Mar, head to the venue website here to find out more and book tickets. 

LINKS: parktheatre.co.uk | www.daveflorez.com | x.com/postscriptprods