When you take the core concepts of a book on heuristic thinking, task blindness, and sunk cost fallacy, and tie it in with a tale of butterfly effect level decision making, throw in heartbreaking personal drama, family beliefs, and Stalin’s daughter, surely you have all the elements for a great night at the theatre, right?

In this case, in the hands of this talented cast and crew, a resounding yes!

Theatre Inconnu’s final show of the season, This Much I Know, kicked down the door of my expectations, and from the first moment, we were off on a journey that I could not have expected, but I was held rapt all the way through.

This was an exceptionally strong cast, deftly shifting between a number of characters and never once let the importance of each character wane. There was such speed and efficiency in switching between characters, but it never felt rushed, it was such a joy to watch.

The direction in this piece worked especially well for me. The transitions, which are often just something to get from scene A to scene B are instead incredibly clever crafted moments that pleasantly surprised me, but never pulled needless focus. This felt like a true ensemble cast, seemingly effortlessly leaning into moments with one another and truly and honestly responding to one another as if it really were the first time.

The pacing of this show is challenging, as there is truly SO much content, that time is needed to convey information, but a too-slow pace would have dragged unbearably. I have to give director Misty Cozac credit for her clever approach to a show that could could have easily been confusing, with clear direction and an overall excellent concept.

Throughout the play, when not in action the actors are often onstage facing away from the audience. I have seen this staging before and it can be employed incredibly effectively in some productions and in others it can create a feeling of cluttered claustrophobia. Here, it hinted well to the themes of the play and I think was a clever choice. In the space limitations of the Inconnu stage, every inch needs to be considered so this was a risk!

The sound design was understated and clever, when I noticed it, it almost as soon disappeared. But in those moments, it effectively set the tone of the scene.

Overall, the technical elements came together quite well. If I can offer a criticism, the majority of the screen graphics were very good, but I did find that the repeating graphics were a bit distracting and other than setting an initial idea, it wasn’t necessary as there was so much happening between the characters.

There is much to be said about the Swiss-watch level precision of Spector’s script. This easily could have turned into a maudlin, plodding melodrama interspersed with a second rate TEDx talk. Instead Spector gives moments for humour, pathos, and breather moments to absorb what was being said.

This play, having received its first public reading in 2018, has its finger on the pulse. A good production of this show asks us to ask the right questions, and examine not only what we know but how we know it. Without being overtly topical, it is timely and incredibly relevant.

I liked this show so, so much it’s almost hard to be objective, but I will say this: even if you aren’t into all the aspects of this play, there is always something happening that will keep you engaged and entertained.

This Much I Know runs until December 14th, tickets available here.

Disclaimer: I received free tickets to the show as a result of other volunteer work I do. No review was expected or requested.