←Recommendations of Is This All This Is

  • Michael C. O'Day: Is This All This Is by Dave Osmundsen
    “

    Osmundsen has gathered up all our current anxieties about identity - sexual, social, economical, political, neurodiverse - and crafted a family drama that embraces a multitude of topics with ease, and with an almost crystalline purity to its craftsmanship. It makes a brilliant, sneaky point - that the social cues and mores its autistic characters have difficulty with are the very things thwarting its neurotypical characters' chances at fulfillment - without ever resorting to cliche or platitude to do so. Instead, it's a profoundly truthful, visceral, beautiful piece of work.

    Osmundsen has gathered up all our current anxieties about identity - sexual, social, economical, political, neurodiverse - and crafted a family drama that embraces a multitude of topics with ease, and with an almost crystalline purity to its craftsmanship. It makes a brilliant, sneaky point - that the social cues and mores its autistic characters have difficulty with are the very things thwarting its neurotypical characters' chances at fulfillment - without ever resorting to cliche or platitude to do so. Instead, it's a profoundly truthful, visceral, beautiful piece of work.

    ”
  • Kyle Smith: Is This All This Is by Dave Osmundsen
    “

    Jamie’s question that rings out in the penultimate scene of this play feels heartbreakingly refreshingly real. Is this all this is functions as the question at the heart of the play for Jamie, and sticks with me in all its beautiful messiness.

    Jamie’s question that rings out in the penultimate scene of this play feels heartbreakingly refreshingly real. Is this all this is functions as the question at the heart of the play for Jamie, and sticks with me in all its beautiful messiness.

    ”
  • Nick Malakhow: Is This All This Is by Dave Osmundsen
    “

    I loved reading about this constellation of characters and the ways each of their needs and wants bumped up against the needs and wants of one another. Dave did it all in a subtle and fine-tuned fashion and with an always conscious eye towards the intersectional identities of his characters. I especially appreciated the nuanced revelation Jamie has about Theresa after running to her as a potential "safe haven." I also loved the way that these characters "make their way" back to each other in messy, complex, and yet still hopeful ways.

    I loved reading about this constellation of characters and the ways each of their needs and wants bumped up against the needs and wants of one another. Dave did it all in a subtle and fine-tuned fashion and with an always conscious eye towards the intersectional identities of his characters. I especially appreciated the nuanced revelation Jamie has about Theresa after running to her as a potential "safe haven." I also loved the way that these characters "make their way" back to each other in messy, complex, and yet still hopeful ways.

    ”
  • Doug DeVita: Is This All This Is by Dave Osmundsen
    “

    Osmundsun writes exquisitely conversational exposition; his dialogue doesn't just "get the job done," it tells several stories all at once, it hints at deeper layers that are mined with cutting precision, and it turns what could in lesser hands be considered political "soap-boxing" into a passionate plea for understanding. Beautifully handled all the way.

    Osmundsun writes exquisitely conversational exposition; his dialogue doesn't just "get the job done," it tells several stories all at once, it hints at deeper layers that are mined with cutting precision, and it turns what could in lesser hands be considered political "soap-boxing" into a passionate plea for understanding. Beautifully handled all the way.

    ”
  • Alexander Perez: Is This All This Is by Dave Osmundsen
    “

    A magnificent analysis of personal boundaries and familial love that questions our expectations of our loved ones and what, if any, compromises should be made to keep them in our lives. Osmundsen’s characters fumble and trip over each other’s needs with clumsy care, cutting deep where they don’t mean to, and struggling figure out how they can make it all okay again. A fascinating collision of desires.

    A magnificent analysis of personal boundaries and familial love that questions our expectations of our loved ones and what, if any, compromises should be made to keep them in our lives. Osmundsen’s characters fumble and trip over each other’s needs with clumsy care, cutting deep where they don’t mean to, and struggling figure out how they can make it all okay again. A fascinating collision of desires.

    ”