Directed by Sam Hardie
Written by Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir
Review by Dominic Corr
While all that glitters is not consistently gold, though with Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir’s This Is A Gift, there is a shimmeringly triumphant reimagining of the Midas myth at the heart of new writing in Scotland. Transposed to contemporary Leith and performed with resilient intensity by Blythe Jandoo, this piece is staged in the Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s intimate and continually impressive studio space, a solo show which is a triumph of atmospheric design and emotional nuance, even if its narrative occasionally falters under the weight of its own crown.
Fresh from a captivating performance as Sandie in Grease, Jandoo plays Zoë, the daughter of a working-class gilder whose offhand, joking wish for the now legendary golden touch sets the story in motion. What follows is a slow descent into a notoriously intricate, though marvellously balanced, magical realism, as Zoë watches her father’s life unravel under the burden of his newfound power. Jandoo’s performance is the production’s crux and firm reminder of their superb skillset away from the more oft seen musical theatre performance: they navigate Zoë’s emotive arc with remarkable control, shifting from young adult exuberance and excess to quiet devastation with tenuousness and grace. Rather than fully embodying the supporting characters, she echoes them through Zoë’s lens, a marvellously intricate device from Sigfúsdóttir, allowing the audience to experience the story as filtered through her memory. It’s a choice that deepens the intimacy of the piece and reinforces its mythic underscoring – a multilayered prophecy within itself: both warning and experience.
The design team elevates the production into something truly special. Natalie Fern’s set—a sloping square interrupted by a circular platform—offers a versatile playground for Jandoo’s movements, subtly guiding the audience’s sense of space and time. The show both passes fleetingly, but its impact lingers. The embedded circle becomes a locus of transformation, where Zoë pauses, reflects, and transitions between emotional beats. It’s minimal, but never sparse.
Peter Fennell’s lighting design is nothing short of alchemical. It conjures gold not as glamour, but as blinding euphoria and prowling dread. The dust which cascades from the ceiling—sometimes in a steady stream, sometimes in sudden bursts—is a visual metaphor that lands with impact, additional praise to the backstage team who manage to time the trickling fragments and other little surprises the show has with brilliance. More striking still are the moments when the lighting shifts into pale, sickly yellows, casting Jandoo in a harsh glow that evokes both wealth and decay; unnerving. These transitions are handled with finesse, marking shifts in mood and location without ever pulling focus from the performer.
Sound designer Niroshini Thambar adds another layer of texture, building a sonic landscape of Leith through tram noises, distant concerts, and the burble of the Water of Leith. Her work is understated but essential, grounding the myth in a recognisable reality and allowing the fantastical elements to bloom organically.
Director Sam Hardie deserves credit for weaving these elements into a cohesive whole. The production never feels over-designed, and each creative choice serves the story’s emotional core. Sigfúsdóttir’s script is enigmatic, powerfully so, like any contemporary myth. The pacing occasionally lags, and the language—while poetic and evocative—leaves some character motivations underexplored for some audiences. Dennis, the enigmatic wish-granter, remains frustratingly (and deliberately) opaque, and the play’s resolution leans more on mood than clarity. The finale – one of contemporary Scottish theatre’s more impactful- could come with a much more agonising strike if delivered even five minutes earlier.
Still, This Is A Gift is a stimulating piece of theatre that lingers in the mind. Gilded at its edges, it’s a reminder that myths endure not because they are grand, but because they speak to the quiet tragedies of everyday life; fluid in a way most contemporary stories could never even conceive. And in Jandoo’s hands, Zoë’s story glows with a light that is both beautiful and blinding.
Beautiful and Blinding
This is a Gift runs at The Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 11th September
Running time – One hour and twenty minutes without interval
Photo credit – Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
Review by Dominic Corr (contact@corrblimey.uk)
Lead editor of Corr Blimey and a freelance critic for Scottish publications, Dominic has written for and contributed to several established and respected publications such as BBC Radio Scotland, The Scotsman, The List, The Skinny, Edinburgh Festival Magazine, The Reviews Hub, In Their Own League, and The Wee Review. As of 2023, he is a member of the Critic’s Award for Theatre Scotland (CATS) and a member of the UK Film Critics.
