Gary and Sandy are two writers who come from different backgrounds: he writes documentation for a computer firm whereas she writes copy for an advertising company; he’s bombastic and abrasive in his style, and she is more concerned with motivation than action. These two very different writers are collaborating on a writing project for a fiction class. How hard could it be?
Gary and Sandy agree to write about a pimp and a prostitute, and they create the characters Steve and Gab. The project starts out stereotypically with Gary wanting a gritty action story about Steve and Gab’s violent relationship, while Sandy is more interested in exploring their sensitivities and motivations.
They take turns steering the action, and the plot surprisingly twists as the characters Steve and Gab develop a life of their own and in turn influence the writers. The characters eventually talk back to their authors and take control of their lives and their creators. As Sandy remarks: “Author voice and character voice merge all the time.”
The title of Escher’s Hands refers to artist M.C. Escher’s famous sketch “Drawing Hands”in which two hands, each holding a pencil, draw the other. Which hand is drawing and which is being drawn? Where is the beginning and where is end? Where are the connections? Who is in control? Who’s making the rules? Playwright Dawson Nichols takes an unforgiving look at the writing process and how the writer and the writing fit together. It is about the dilemma of control and free will.
Escher’s Hands was nominated for the New Play Award of the American Theatre Critics Association.
“A class act, bold and original. Stunning…a unique work that should not be missed.”Adelaide Advertiser
“Ingenious, funny, gripping,… [Escher’s Hands] is just plain entertaining.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Escher’s Hands engages as an intricately formed jigsaw puzzle… Nichols has fun blurring theatrical conventions, and deftly stays a move or two ahead of the audience.” Seattle Times
“A sexy thriller… an intellectual romp. ” Spoleto Today

Written By : Dawson Nichols
Directed by : Kym Clayton