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If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet
Fifteen-year-old Anna is bullied by her classmates for being overweight. Her mother, Fiona, decides to transfer her to the school where she teaches, but that only makes things worse. Anna’s father, George, is no help—he’s too obsessed with saving the world. Just as Anna gets suspended for head-butting one of her tormenters, her uncle Terry arrives for an unannounced visit. A heartbroken, filthy-mouthed slacker, Terry reaches out to Anna in a way that no one ever has. Their unexpected friendship sends her parents’ rocky marriage into a tailspin as the whole family wonders what—or who—really needs saving.
Nick Payne’s If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet is a brilliantly sad, humorous, and empathetic look at a family stuck somewhere between knowing what the problem is and doing something about it.
Nick Payne’s If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet is a brilliantly sad, humorous, and empathetic look at a family stuck somewhere between knowing what the problem is and doing something about it.
- GenresPlays
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 11, 2026
You have been scaling Everest--snowy, icy, jagged with crampons. And suddenly you find yourself on the slopes of a sour creamed hill in the Catskills with waffles on your feet.
You have shopped the streets of Fifth Avenue and Lexington. Your arms are heavy with the large bags that hold your new acquisitions. And then you are in Boise, on a needless business trip with nothing to do.
Your headphones have been delivering Shostakovich and you feel ethereal and pensive. You then walk down Main Street and Ye is blasting from the pub’s speakers.
You are on your last asana before shavasana, and it is a tree pose. You feel balanced and mindful. And then the six-foot six-inch guy in tiny shorts with muscles in his toes also walks in, lifts a five-hundred-pound weight and drops it to the floor.
You are seated at Katz’s and are awaiting the pastrami sandwich you just ordered from the hostile waitress. You are still full three days later, but time insists on another meal. So, you enter the ground floor bodega and buy a pre-wrapped hero assembled somewhere distant, and shelved days ago.
You have spent the last month reading the plays of Aeschylus and TS Eliot and you are still thirsty for more. And then you feel a sudden Payne behind the eyes and an ache in your head as you close ‘If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet.’
To add insult to deflation, you realize you have bought two plays from the same guy already and you still need to read that one next. And then you learn, once again, that in life ‘constellations’ are infrequently aligned.
So, you persevere. Why? The question itself hardly matters.
Kadima, until you no longer can.
You have shopped the streets of Fifth Avenue and Lexington. Your arms are heavy with the large bags that hold your new acquisitions. And then you are in Boise, on a needless business trip with nothing to do.
Your headphones have been delivering Shostakovich and you feel ethereal and pensive. You then walk down Main Street and Ye is blasting from the pub’s speakers.
You are on your last asana before shavasana, and it is a tree pose. You feel balanced and mindful. And then the six-foot six-inch guy in tiny shorts with muscles in his toes also walks in, lifts a five-hundred-pound weight and drops it to the floor.
You are seated at Katz’s and are awaiting the pastrami sandwich you just ordered from the hostile waitress. You are still full three days later, but time insists on another meal. So, you enter the ground floor bodega and buy a pre-wrapped hero assembled somewhere distant, and shelved days ago.
You have spent the last month reading the plays of Aeschylus and TS Eliot and you are still thirsty for more. And then you feel a sudden Payne behind the eyes and an ache in your head as you close ‘If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet.’
To add insult to deflation, you realize you have bought two plays from the same guy already and you still need to read that one next. And then you learn, once again, that in life ‘constellations’ are infrequently aligned.
So, you persevere. Why? The question itself hardly matters.
Kadima, until you no longer can.
June 18, 2017
"...if people could only get to grips with what it is that needs to be done, they would be willing to change. Empathy, I thought, logic, would win out."
George's last little monologue was probably my favorite part of this play, sadly, it came at the end. Just as you find yourself hoping for a little more philosophical...umph? It's over.
I didn't mind this play at all, and found bits of it perfectly entertaining. I do believe the description of the play was way more interesting than what was actually written. Nick Payne is a fine playwright, but so much of this particular example is probably best seen performed, and not read. Much of what I was expecting didn't really come through in the written text. The relationships were on the brink of being something, but they fell short of being anything other than sort of basic. Again, I expect seeing it performed would allow for all the character nuances to really shine and to see more the conflicts, struggles, and awkwardness that seems to follow this family around.
George's last little monologue was probably my favorite part of this play, sadly, it came at the end. Just as you find yourself hoping for a little more philosophical...umph? It's over.
I didn't mind this play at all, and found bits of it perfectly entertaining. I do believe the description of the play was way more interesting than what was actually written. Nick Payne is a fine playwright, but so much of this particular example is probably best seen performed, and not read. Much of what I was expecting didn't really come through in the written text. The relationships were on the brink of being something, but they fell short of being anything other than sort of basic. Again, I expect seeing it performed would allow for all the character nuances to really shine and to see more the conflicts, struggles, and awkwardness that seems to follow this family around.
September 27, 2018
A strong and powerful story. Well defined characters, honest and tender. Payne tends to pair situations with great wit, and it's impressive to see the development of the story with the inner issues of each character. A story about bullying with a happy ending and a hard look at reality. Great reading.
March 11, 2020
Really like the character of Terry. There’s so much going on overall, it’s hard to connect with the other characters completely, even though it’s all laid out. Anna is interesting, but doesn’t get enough to say or do. Mom & Dad are okay, but similar. The three of them feel a bit cliche and not as interesting as Terry.
June 8, 2015
At times a bit too close to Kenneth Lonergan's You Can Count On Me.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews