The Stage

If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet

Published Friday 23 October 2009 at 11:20 by Aleks Sierz

Fat Anna is 15 and she’s having a rough time. She’s being bullied at school where her mum is a teacher. And her dad is too busy writing a book about saving the planet from climate change to pay much attention to her. But when Anna’s wired uncle, Terry, comes to stay, things start to look up. Then, as they get closer, things begin to change and Anna gets her first lessons in heartbreak.

Rafe Spall (Terry) and Pandora Colin (Fiona) in If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet at the Bush Theatre Photo: Tristram Kenton

Nick Payne’s beautifully observed play is an engaging mix of wild hilarity and sober sadness. Written with impressive confidence, the story bounces off the joys of transgression and into the arms of seriousness, often within a single sentence. As well as showing us the familiar contours of teen angst, it also dips its toe into the more troubled waters of depression and marital break-up.

Josie Rourke directs flawlessly on Lucy Osborne’s amazing set, which spreads across the entire theatre space, its wash of blue colour urging escape from smalltown life while its hanging lamps glow or dim every time climate change is mentioned.

As Anna, Ailish O’Connor delivers a restrained and convincing performance, her eyes shining with infatuation or stricken with disappointment. Compared to her quietness, Rafe Spall is a mesmerizing stage presence, in equal degrees appealing and appalling. When he’s not on stage, he’s sorely missed - by us as much as by Anna.

Her parents are a study in contrast, with Pandora Colin’s sensible and sincere Fiona at odds with Michael Begley’s goofy, fanatical George. Their struggle to make their marriage work is as deeply felt as their clumsy attempts to reach out to their unhappy daughter. An evening that is both bruising and entertaining.