Nicholas Burns in The Gift [Rich Southgate]

WHEN Colin (Nicholas Burns) opens a mystery package, a cake box from his favourite patisserie, to find a human turd, it sets him off on an obsessive journey into his past to discover who sent it to him and why.

His sister Lisa (Laura Haddock) and her husband Brian (Alex Price) want to support him, they really do, but Colin takes everything to extremes. Although they’re supposed to be going out for dinner, Colin can’t face it and cancels the booking at his favourite north London restaurant.

The sender knows Colin’s middle name. It isn’t long before he is dredging through his entire life convinced that he can unmask the sender. Soon he has a spreadsheet of people he thinks he has alienated at work or offended at university and is threatening to respond in kind.

When Lisa and Brian go away on a retreat, Colin is left to his own devices and takes things to the next level.

He ends up a front-page news story in the local paper. Gradually, Colin’s thinking shifts and he wonders if the incident might actually provide a welcome opportunity for change.

Writer Dave Florez aims for a light-hearted, sitcom vibe, chasing easy laughs with rather too much predictable, scatological humour.

The characters feel one-dimensional and although the jokes come thick and fast, they don’t always land. Not the fault of the actors, whose timing is spot on.

I prefer comedy with edge, but it’s hard not to enjoy Florez’s good-natured farce, the slick performances, Sarah Perks’ impressive set – combining kitchen and sitting room – and Adam Meggido’s assured direction.

until March 1
parktheatre.co.uk