Bill Kenwright presents

Pack of Lies by Hugh Whitemore

Directed by Christopher Morahan and designed by Julie Godfrey.

Reviewed at Milton Keynes Theatre on Monday 9^th March 2009.

I enjoyed this play, but it might not appeal to everyone. If you prefer your plays to build subtly rather than be fast paced and in your face then this is for you. The overall theme of the play concerns lies and whether it can ever be moral to tell lies. Certainly outright lies are immoral, but does this also apply to not telling the whole truth to a child to protect them? Or can lies be justified when told in the interests of national security? These questions are made all the more poignant because the play is based upon actual events from the early 1960s.

The play does an admirable job of capturing, not only the style, but also the mindset of suburban London in 1960. This includes the contrast between the Canadian/American woman and the British woman, which is reflected in their clothes as well as their demeanour, reserve and approach to life.

The major character is Barbara played by Jenny Seagrove, a fairly typical British housewife of the time. Ms Seagrove does an admirable job of giving us an insight into the psyche of this character that is at once simple and complex. Simon Shepherd plays her rather comfortable husband, Bob, in a fashion which is totally believable. The third member of this family is their daughter Julie played by Corinne Sawers who I found particularly impressive at portraying a child in their early teens. On the opposite side of the road live Helen a brash, to the point of irritation, “Canadian” played by Lorna Luft and her husband the soft spoken Peter played by Robert Slade. These characters are supposed to be chalk and cheese, a task the actors pull off superbly. The remainder of the cast are the Home Office employees, Mr Stewart played by Daniel Hill and the watchers Thelma and Sally played by Emma Kearney and Rebecca McQuillan respectively.

The scenery was superb, portraying a 1960s home in a 1930s semi. All the doorways are in place but most of the internal walls are missing, allowing you to see into each room. The fact that the actors take circuitous routes around the set, through the doorways leaves you with the impression that the walls are there and you just can’t see them. The attention to detail is excellent and all the props are appropriate to the period. Good use is made of sound, mostly in the form of short snatches of music or radio dialogue, again this is of the period and being of a certain age I recognised the introduction to “Workers’ Playtime”. Lighting was underplayed but effective and I particularly liked the way lack of lighting was used.

Pack of Lies played Milton Keynes Theatre from 9^th March - 14^th March 2009.  Milton Keynes Theatre Box Office 0870 060 6652 (bkg fee). www.miltonkeynestheatre.com.

The tour continues playing the Theatre Royal, Nottingham from Monday 16^th to Saturday 21^st March 2009, and the Festival Theatre, Malvern and the New Theatre, Cardiff during April. http://www.kenwright.com/default.asp?contentID=938.

Reviewed by Sue Marks at Milton Keynes Theatre on Monday 9^th March 2009.