If That's All There Is

Review by Tulis McCall
(20 Dec 2010)

Well - Inspector Sanders did it again. They are two for two in the plus column.

Inspector Sanders is a theatre company of three people: Lucinka Eisler, Giulia Innocenti and Ben Lewis. They are all very capable and very funny. Instead of waiting for someone to discover them, they are creating their own theatre, and they are damn good at it.

In this production, as in Hysteria that is also in rep with this show, the trio focuses on people who are in crisis. Not like what do you do when the river you live on is about to be dammed up and your house is going to be under water. Nope. These crises are created by the people who carry them around. 'If That's All There Is' was inspired by the song of the same name that was made famous by Peggy Lee. The play focuses on a newly married couple and what is going on in their respective noggins.

What is going on is rather like a slow car wreck. You'd like to turn away, but you can't. In this case, it is the wiser move. This fragile marriage is the union of two even more fragile people. Daniel (Lewis) is suspicious of his wife Frances (Eisler) who is, for all intents, normal in a squirrely sort of way. For solace, Daniel seeks out the guidance of a therapist (Innocenti) who out shoots Danile's wife/fiancée in the squirrely department any number of ways including the borrowing of props from Daniel's apartment and speaking over his thoughts. Daniel, in his concern for/about his fiancée, coupled with his desire to avoid talking about himself brings with him a printed presentation about Frances in order to support his theory that something is indeed very wrong.

Mean time Frances is at work where the new intern (also Innocenti in a fabulous turn on the stage) has a deep and dull crush on her.

The focus zips back and forth like ping pong balls with barely a breath between them. Just as you are settling in to a conversation you are whisked away to another locale where something equally as interesting is happening.

This trio, Inspector Sands, keeps you on your toes from the very first moment to the last. They color outside the lines and dance across rooftops. They are brilliant and reckless, precise and inventive, intelligent and frank. They are kaleidoscopic creators.

Don't miss them.

(Tulis McCall)