This is a Gift – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

In a continuation of Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s 2025 Summer programme, This is a Gift brings a fresh contemporary take on the legend of Midas.  Rather than a King being the one granted with the gift of the midas touch, it is a working class shopkeeper from Leith – the Father of Zoe, the narrator of this one-woman show.  Written by Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir, This is a Gift subverts from the original tale and puts the gift in a position where it is wanted out of need not greed.  But is money the root of all evil – is it worth the sacrifice?  This play asks us how far we will go to provide for the ones we love.

The one hour-and-twenty run time flew by thanks to Sigfúsdóttir’s fast-paced writing and Blythe Jandoo’s (who plays Zoe) punchy performance.  And with the beautifully mesmerising stage design by Natalie Fern, this production felt like it had captured gold in a bottle.  In Jandoo’s opening monologue, she discusses the quality of gold – saying it doesn’t glitter it blinds – and to be able to exactly capture this sentiment through the design elements is a testament to the skill and expression of Fern’s work.  With golden sand falling from the sky, butterflies sailing down to the ground, and a dress that glinted harshly in the light, every aspect of the production design was not only beautiful, but purposeful.

Peter Fennel’s lighting design also helped to create this personification of gold with sickly yellow lighting which bounced off of the shiny gold of the set and transformed Jandoo into the golden statue as she was bound by the gift.  These moments of fantasy were made heavenly by Fennel, with the light shining in like rays from above.  Embodying teenage excitement, the fear and the curiosity of the unknown, and the mysticality and dreaminess of it all, Fennel employed his work subtly, making it all the more impactful in Zoe’s final moments when those yellow beams are shining with a complete power.

Also working on the production design of this play was Sound Designer Niroshini Thambar who built the cityscape of Edinburgh through sound, with the noise pollution of angry traffic, the Water of Leith burbling by, and the cheers from a concert.  Thambar’s execution was also subtle but incredibly effective at creating a world to immerse us in – grounding us in reality.  Although the music added to that ethereal quality of the play, even it sounded like it was glittering like gold.  In all, the production design team gave us a masterclass in scrutinising the source material to find the meaning that is best translated into physical design elements.

Director Sam Hardie has created a beautiful canvas of work with This is a Gift, truly having made something unique and special with it.  There is a complete cohesion between all areas of this production – Hardie’s vision is executed with both a mesmerisation and cohesion.  The vision would of course not be complete without Jandoo, who slotted perfectly into this role.  Jandoo commanded the room with a comfortability and quiet power, transitioning seamlessly from one scenario to the next, taking us with her on the adventure.  Jandoo never lost my attention throughout the run and maintained a fullness of energy.  Truly a performance I won’t forget in a hurry.

Touching on so many important and very apt subjects it was so well imagined, executed, and planned – this play truly is a gift.  Performing at the Pitlochry festival Theatre until the 11th of September, there is something so special about This is a Gift – this really is a must see! www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com

Reviewer: Jessie Martin

Reviewed: 28th June 2025

North West End UK Rating: