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Post by Boob on Mar 16, 2016 6:26:28 GMT
Has anyone seen this yet? I'm yet to jump on the Zeller bandwagon and, in spite of the great cast, I'm disappointed to see this third offering is directed by Lindsay Posner, who feels like a bit of a downgrade after James Macdonald and Laurence Boswell. Maybe I'll give The Father a go first and wait for your reviews of this...
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Post by patterdalepip on Mar 16, 2016 7:04:44 GMT
Funny that's exactly what I have decided to do. Seeing The Father on Thursday so will reserve judgement until I have seen it before deciding on The Truth
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Post by alece10 on Mar 16, 2016 7:55:36 GMT
I went to see it last night and have to say I enjoyed it very much.
I am not really a play person so I probably know nothing.
Its 90 mins with no interval
Very clever set with sections sliding in and out at scene changes
Cast of 4 with Alexander Hanson giving the stand out performance and he is on stage all of the time.
Black comedy I would say and very funny in parts. Very fast moving.
As for the plot, well I wont give anything away and will just say that its about relationships and telling the truth. Lots of twists and turns and one or two gasps when you thought "I didn't expect that".
Believe the author is all the rage at the moment but apart from what I read in the programme know nothing about him so have no idea how this compares with his other works.
will be interesting to see what others think when they see it.
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Post by RedRose on Mar 16, 2016 11:46:44 GMT
I have't seen this production but I saw the German Version some years ago. I really enjoyed it and thought it was rather clever. But it's much lighter than The Father and a total different kind of play,in Germany it would be called Boulevardstück, but it'S of a much better quality than a lot of Ayckbourns I have seen.
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Post by littlesally on Mar 27, 2016 2:54:55 GMT
Saw this yesterday. Laughed a great deal. All four actors are impressive but Alexander Hanson is hysterical, finely balancing a difficult role. The fact that we start laughing at him but end up laughing with him.
Sold out matinee. Hope it does well.
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Post by alece10 on Mar 29, 2016 6:37:51 GMT
I am really surprised that only two of us on the forum have seen this play so far especially as it got pretty good reviews.
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Post by showgirl on Mar 29, 2016 17:59:04 GMT
I'd love to see it, given the reviews, but not at those prices, so I'm hoping it will transfer as past experience shows that can result in cheaper tickets for some seats/performances.
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Post by Latecomer on Mar 29, 2016 19:25:19 GMT
I'm going 7th May  |
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Post by yam on Mar 30, 2016 8:09:27 GMT
I'm seeing it on Saturday afternoon
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Post by liverpool54321 on Mar 30, 2016 9:39:09 GMT
We're also booked for matinee next Saturday.
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Post by liverpool54321 on Apr 2, 2016 17:28:40 GMT
Saw the sold out matinee today. New to Zeller but will keep eye out for future plays. Very clever script and some very good straight acting that helped to make it extremely funny at times. Not as pacy as I feared and easy to keep up with the dialogue. Will not give away any spoilers, but suffice to say, The Truth is a very apt title. Definitely recommended and can see why it got 4 and 5 star reviews.
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Post by joem on Apr 3, 2016 17:53:11 GMT
Seen it today. Enjoyed it immensely. I was expecting something poignant and heart-rending like The Father (excellent in its own way) and instead got this barrel of laughs.
It is more Ayckbourn than Pinter, if you must make comparisons, but in the same way as you sometimes realise there is often more to Ayckbourn beyond the laughs here you have a very funny but thought-provoking play on what it says on the tin - truth. Great work from the four cast members but especial mention for Alexander Hanson who is a hoot and does righteous (and totally unwarranted) indignation with the best of them.
Am beginning to think Florian Zeller may indeed be a major talent and look forward to seeing his plays for many years to come.
Please go and see this if you can. It is wonderful when new writing breaks through to the big time.
A gratuitous plug for Tito's Peruvian Restaurant (possibly the oldest in town and established well before the cuisine became fashionable in London) as it's good, not expensive and a five minute walk from the Menier.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2016 12:13:19 GMT
Saw this last week and really enjoyed it - particularly Alexander Hanson's performance, though it needed the more understated roles to make his character stand out.
Struck me that it was one of those plays that is great with a skilled cast, but could be equally bad with less accomplished actors.
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Post by CG on the loose on May 1, 2016 17:10:56 GMT
Big thanks to all who wrote so favourably of this delight (on the strength of which I've been keeping an eye open for rerurns) - finally saw it this afternoon and absolutely loved it. Agree with jellybean that it might have been a very different piece with a less skilled cast (but then I guess that could be said of much that I see!) but they pitched it just beautifully.
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Post by bordeaux on May 2, 2016 12:10:43 GMT
Fans of Zeller might be interested to know that his latest work is a translation of Simon Gray's Otherwise Engaged called Une Heure de Tranquilité, though he has replaced Gray's Parsifal with an rare jazz album.
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Post by showgirl on May 2, 2016 12:20:39 GMT
I see the Menier are doing their usual thing and inviting those interested to register for news of a West End transfer. I didn't book to see this at the MCF because of the ticket prices and would still like to see it, so hope it does get a further run somewhere soon - but as the run ends this week, it's obviously not going anywhere else immediately, if at all.
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Post by bordeaux on May 2, 2016 12:36:56 GMT
I see the Menier are doing their usual thing and inviting those interested to register for news of a West End transfer. I didn't book to see this at the MCF because of the ticket prices and would still like to see it, so hope it does get a further run somewhere soon - but as the run ends this week, it's obviously not going anywhere else immediately, if at all. It's in Bath next week - till May 14th. |
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Post by showgirl on May 2, 2016 12:42:22 GMT
Thank you, bordeaux - interesting news and I've not known a production go to Bath after London before, though the reverse is often the case. Great if a tour followed but I'm sure any such thing would have been well publicised by now. Here's hoping, however...
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Post by bordeaux on May 2, 2016 19:53:10 GMT
Thank you, bordeaux - interesting news and I've not known a production go to Bath after London before, though the reverse is often the case. Great if a tour followed but I'm sure any such thing would have been well publicised by now. Here's hoping, however... I imagine it's some sort of reward for the Bath Ustinov's having put on the first two productions of his work in the country - The Father and the Mother. The Ustinov is at the back of the Theatre Royal, where the new one will be playing. I'm hoping the Ustinov has a cut of the West End production of The Father, as it's a small theatre which has discovered some great things - European classics and contemporary American plays. |
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Post by stefy69 on May 3, 2016 5:58:59 GMT
Well I'm crossing everything I can for a deserved WE transfer !
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Post by mallardo on May 5, 2016 17:13:31 GMT
Finally caught up with this, just in time. Thought it was brilliant. Alexander Hanson meticulously perfect as the overwhelmed man-child who thinks his tissue of lies is actually working - I must say I identified with him to an unhealthy degree, being myself a lifelong dissimulator who is always caught out. Bonus for me was Frances O'Connor who I have been in love with since Spielberg's AI and who is even more gorgeous in person.
I love Florian Zeller's writing, even though my instinct is to hate him for being so talented and so young. I know he acknowledges Harold Pinter as an influence and if Pinter had ever had a sense of humour and/or a talent for plot he might have written this. He couldn't have written it better though.
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Post by moelhywel on May 5, 2016 17:27:08 GMT
I've just been to see The Father in Birmingham and in the programme there is an interview with Christopher Hampton which states "The Truth was his breakout hit, which I've translated and which should be seen in the West End towards the end of next year"
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2016 23:41:14 GMT
Saw this at the Theatre Royal Bath with an ageing matinee audience who lapped it up, laughing uproariously.
It holds the audience's delighted attention as it twists and turns but doesn't demand great intellect.
Superior tat? Very pleasurable for the comfortable mature theatregoer.
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Post by bordeaux on May 15, 2016 10:12:09 GMT
Saw last night's performance in Bath. The funniest thing I've seen in quite a while; I watched the first half hour with a permanent smile on my face and after that it gets funnier and the laughs bigger. Don't want to give too much away, but it is very clever and brilliantly plotted. But, yes, it's not Pinter - it's more lightweight than that, and it bears similarities with the work of Yasmina Reza. I will be very keen to see The Lie when it is produced.
In an earlier post I mentioned that Zeller had translated or adapted Simon Gray's Otherwise Engaged as Une Heure de Tranquilité. The Truth programme suggests that Jeremy Sams will be translating that back into English some time!
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2016 11:11:16 GMT
But, yes, it's not Pinter Robert Portal played Paul as a Pinter character, it seemed to me, and personally I was transfixed by his part in the production which was much the most interesting to me. |
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