''If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet'' is the first full-length professionally produced play by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Nick Payne. It was produced at the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 2009.

Productions

London

The play opened in London in 2009 at the

, where it was a smash hit. Directed by

Josie Rourke Josie Rourke is an English theatre and film director. She is a vice-president of the London Library, and was the artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse theatre from 2012 to 2019. In 2018, she made her feature film debut with the Academy Award ...

, the cast starred Rafe Spall, Ailish O'Connor, Pandora Collin and Michael Begley. It received positive reviews calling it "flawless" and a "comic tour de force". Payne received a nomination for the

Evening Standard Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

for Most Promising Playwright in 2010; he won the George Devine Award.

Off-Broadway

The play premiered

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at the

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a nonprofit organization, non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fr ...

Laura Pels Theatre on 20 September 2012. Michael Longhurst directed, with

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal ( , ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor who has worked on screen and stage for over thirty years. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi ...

starring in his New York stage debut. It was extended and then returned from a hiatus for another two weeks, through 23 December 2012. Designer Beowulf Boritt created an impressive submergable set suggesting a planet under siege. ''TimeOut New York'' called it "Stirring, Insightful & Brutally Honest....Using set changes that are both practical and neatly metaphoric, director Michael Longhurst shows that sometimes people with the highest ideals make the biggest messes." As a family in a tailspin stuck somewhere between knowing what the problems are and doing something about it - questions of what or who really needs saving were presented in this stirring work.

Plot

Overweight and bullied Anna is neglected by her

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

obsessed father and misunderstood by her

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

mother. When her dozy but charismatic uncle turns up out the blue he is the only one that seems be able to get through to her, however as he becomes more and more obsessed with his ex-girlfriend and his own problems he doesn't notice Anna spiralling into depression and that he is the only one who could save her.

Publication

The play has been published in the United Kingdom and in the United States.

References

{{reflist

External links

Internet Off-Broadway Database
British plays Climate change plays