‘Escher’s Hands’ Draws on Differing Realities

M.C. Escher made slight distortions in his meticulously calculated drawings to seamlessly bend two-dimensional logic. Two-point-perspective reality suddenly transmogrifies into illogical fantasy.

This transformation from reality into a fantastic new dimension is what Dawson Nichols’ “Escher’s Hands,” at the Lillian Theatre, is about. Named after Escher’s “Drawing Hands,” a study that shows realistic hands drawing each other, the play has some potential, but this production ultimately fails to blend two realities into a suspenseful drama.

Two students in a writing class are given an assignment: to collaborate on a story. Predictably, Sandy (Bronwen Bonner-Davies) wants to write a romance filled with interior dialogue, while her partner Gary (Keith Allan) wants a gritty action tale about the violent relationship between a pimp (Stephen Butchko) and a prostitute (Deirdre V. Lyons).

There’s an edginess between Bonner-Davies and Allan as they both vie for control, criticize and push each other. Lyons and Butchko are less successful in achieving a believable chemistry. Lyons’ working girl is a one-note tough cookie, and Butchko’s unintentional pimp seems too ineffectual to really constitute a threat.

Part of the problem is the flatness of the overall atmosphere. The set and lighting design by T.H. Espian Productions doesn’t aspire to be more than functional. Michael Rainey directs without imbuing the actions with a ripple of unease that might help us cross into the twilight zone between two murky realities.

In the end, this play becomes nothing more than an intellectual exercise that has pounded into us the message of control--the need to have and the need to give it up.

* “Escher’s Hands,” Lillian Theatre, 1076 N. Lillian Way, Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Sundays, 7 p.m. Pre-show music performance on Fridays, Saturdays, 7 p.m.; post-show comedy, magic and improv on Fridays, Saturdays, 10:30 p.m. $18-$20. (323) 655-8587. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.