59E59 Theatres Presents HYSTERIA and IF THAT'S ALL THERE IS, 12/7

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes Inspector Sands with the US premiere of HYSTERIA and IF THAT'S ALL THERE IS, created by Inspector Sands, with Associate Direction by Joseph Alford (HYSTERIA) and Lu Kemp (IF THAT'S ALL THERE IS). Running in rep at the 2010 Brits Off Broadway festival, HYSTERIA and IF THAT'S ALL THERE IS begin performances on Tuesday, December 7 for a limited engagement through Sunday, January 2.

HYSTERIA runs the weeks of December 7 - December 12 and December 21 - December 26. Press Opening for HYSTERIA is Sunday, December 12 at 7:15 PM.  IF THAT'S ALL THERE IS runs the weeks of December 14 - December 19 and December 28 - January 2. Press Opening for IF THAT'S ALL THERE IS is Sunday, December 19 at 7:15 PM.

The performance schedule is Tuesday & Wednesday at 7:15 PM; Thursday & Friday at 8:15 PM; Saturday at 2:15 PM & 8:15 PM; and Sunday at 3:15 PM & 7:15 PM. Tickets are $35 ($24.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.  For more information, visit www.britsoffbroadway.com.

Holiday Performance Schedule: Friday, December 24 at 7:15 PM. No performances on Saturday, December 25. Friday, December 31 at 7:15 PM. Saturday, January 1 at 8:15 PM only.

Inspired by T.S. Eliot's poem of the same name, HYSTERIA is an award-winning play about panic, the apocalypse and table manners.  A man and a woman are on the most awkward dinner date of their lives. Caught in the middle is their mortified waiter, haunted by visions of global catastrophe. "A funny, innovative and at times disturbing exploration of how human beings hang on to their sanity" The Financial Times.

In IF THAT'S ALL THERE IS, a couple teeter on the brink of marriage. As the happiest day of their lives approaches, the panic begins to rise. And everyone's watching. Inspired by Peggy Lee's version of Lieber and Stoller's Is That All There Is?, this award-winning play (called "deliciously sharp and witty" by The Guardian) dissects our obsession with finding fulfillment at any cost.

The cast of both HYSTERIA and IF THAT'S ALL THERE IS features Lucinka Eisler, Giulia Innocenti and Ben Lewis.

Inspector Sands was founded in 2005 by Ben Lewis, Giulia Innocenti and Lucinka Eisler. Individually, they had already produced a number of critically acclaimed, sell-out shows which had played at venues including the Riverside Studios, ICA and BAC and had toured the UK and internationally (including The Ushers, Aruba and A Quiet Afternoon).

The company's first production, Hysteria, was developed at BAC and the Nightingale Theatre (Brighton) and premiered at Aurora Nova at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2006. The show sold out its run, gaining exclusively four and five star reviews, won a Total Theatre Award "for the integration of space, sound, light and physical performance" and was short-listed for the Carol Tambor Award. It was selected to play at the South Bank Centre's Purcell Room and was invited back to Edinburgh 2007 by the Assembly Rooms where it was part of the British Council Showcase recommended program. Hysteria has since toured extensively around the UK, including two national tours (winning an Argus Angel Award) and internationally to Armenia, Germany, Romania, Russia and China.

Following the success of Hysteria, Inspector Sands was commissioned by Lyric Hammersmith to make a new show to create a new piece for their studio, during which time the company was also mentored by the Lyric's in-house production team. If That's All There Is played at the Traverse Theatre in the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe as part of the British Council Showcase and has since toured the UK, with further UK and international dates set for 2010.

Inspector Sands won the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe Award 2009, a recognition of the development of their work so far and a commission to make a work-in-progress for the 2010 international festival.