Review: The Truth

The stage was black as the audience filtered into the theatre. The pre-show, or lack thereof, intrigued me. The set wasn’t even visible. Am I about to watch prestige theatre? 

My expectations for the play were mixed. The play attached a stellar team of artists. Academy-Award winning writer Christopher Hampton translated the play from its French origin. Movie and theatre actors alike made up the cast list, including Stephen Mangan (Tony Award for The Norman Conquests), Ardal O’Hanlon (Father Ted), Sarah Hadland (Miranda), and Janie Dee (Olivier Award for Carousel). I was one of the few journalists in a room packed with theatre celebrities. I loved it. 

The curtains rose, and a scene title projected. Scene titles? I really am about to watch real theatre. The first scene began with two married people, Michel and Alice, finishing a quickie in bed. The only issue is that neither is married to the other. The premise itself is classic. Will Michel, the guy, take responsibility for having an affair with his best friend’s wife? As it turns out, no. The action of the play is no short of entertaining and quick-witted. The dialogue snaps back and forth, jokes expand, and character arcs complicate. Each scene involves Michel and another person involved in the situation. Whether it’s his wife, his best friend, or his best friend’s wife. Each scene provides a platform for Michel to be honest with his loved ones.

The play ends unsatisfactorily, as Michel never improves. That being said, he did not lose what he wanted either, which is to continue deceiving his loved ones. Why would Michel get with his best friend’s wife? We don’t need a concrete answer, but we do need a concrete resolution: Michel should change even if it is too late. While the engine successfully sustains the play, it avoids sinking its teeth into the ‘so what?’ of it all. Michel never fully inherits full accountability for his affair. Therefore, I think the ending muddies the theme of the play. The Truth asks questions of the morality between truth and lies in aging relationships. Michel’s best friend, Paul, points out how “if everyone told the truth, that’d be no couples left on earth.” My interpretation of the play’s ending ironically suggests that the truth is not necessary to sustain a close relationship. It suggests that lies can save a couple, but ultimately haunt them. It’s a true theme, but I can’t help but wonder where the story could’ve gone had Michel changed in some way. The theme could have still landed, while giving the audience catharsis. 

The production was a non-stop thrill. The jokes were stand-out. The wordplay in the production expanded and contrasted. Refrains like Michel’s hypocritical “What a bastard!” when he heard of another’s wrongdoings created a space where the audience leaned in, waiting for what punch line came next. The playwright additionally managed to slip expectations more than one time. There were a few times when tropes were gleefully used from the genre of cross-affair comedies. One example is the dramatically ironic scene with Michel and Paul, where Paul claims that he doesn’t know about an affair between his wife and best friend to trap Michel in a lie. Although it was tropey, the show never stopped being unapologetically witty. 

The range of performances was the cherry on top. Each actor had an acute awareness of the slightly elevated comedy that the tone of the play called for. All four actors conveyed their truths and lies clearly. Stephen Mangan’s interpretation of Michel is jaw-dropping. His multidimensional view of the character adds a charm and seduction to his relationships, and establishes his lack of responsibility equally. Janie Dee’s take on Laurence was nuanced. Her sharp contradictions between what she thought and what she said left my heart an open wound after the play. She brought a somberness and weight to Laurence’s character, who could otherwise feel like a comedic add-on without the wrong performance.

The set and technical elements were knock-out. Shout out to the scenic designer, Lizzie Clachan. The repeated on-stage motif of a table and two chairs suggested a familial, or intimate, conversation was to be had. None of Michel’s close ones received it. The various locations in the play (two hotel bedrooms, a tennis court, flats) involved shifting panels that transitioned between scenes seamlessly. The upper-class, Parisian design of the set created a liminal feeling that mirrored the blurring of ‘the truth’ regarding the cross-affair. Much like the theme of the play, the set finds a personal connection to stylize an ordinary location. 

The Truth is a play for those seeking great performances and prestige theatre. The conflict of the play never gets tiring, and the jokes point out a great deal about trusting your loved ones. I wish the play had dug deeper into its themes around marriage and affairs. Its ironic ending did not suggest a coherent resolution for the play; it merely presented the conflict like a filet mignon a chef undercooked. It’s a good cut, but unfinished.   

The play is running for 14 weeks at the Apollo Theatre. Performances run until 12 September.

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