"The Truth" by Florian Zeller, Translated by Christopher Hampton (3-6 July 2024)

Poster

LA VÉRITÉ in its original French production was first presented at the Théâtre Montparnasse, Paris, on September 23, 2011, with Pierre Arditi, Fanny Cottençon, Christine Millet and Patrice Kerbrat, who also directed. THE TRUTH, in this translation by Christopher Hampton, was first presented in association with Theatre Royal Bath Productions at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London, on 10 March 2016.

One of the most repeated societal commodities during my upbringing was the Golden Rule: treat others how you wish to be treated. It wasn’t until decades later that I began to understand how deeply open to interpretation this ‘rule’ is – not a rule at all, really, but more of a vague admonishment. How do I wish to be treated? With kid gloves? With lustrous illusions? With the hard truth? And what qualifies as ‘hard’?  The best answer is probably that it depends on the circumstances. Ultimately, we know what we want to know. Until we don’t. Perhaps the trick is caring enough to calibrate how much of your story to tell. 

It has been a sublime honour to direct this witty, elastic script, so full of fresh discoveries even upon the 4th, 8th or 25th reading.  THE TRUTH is like a peony blossoming in winter: so delightful to encounter that it takes your breath away, until the fog lifts and it dawns on you how infelicitous its bloom is, how different things are than what you knew they should be.

Thank you to the magical Christopher Hampton, above all, for encouraging me. Gracious and massive thanks go out to the cast and crew, who have put such love and energy into this show. Thank you to my friends, my parents (including my outlaws!), and ever and above all, my heavenly sprite, Adelaide.  

Reviews
"It was a triumph! Congratulations to Cast, Crew and Director. So, so  good. So good in fact that my friends said it was as good as a professional performance. 👏" Rachel F

"Loved it, hilarious in places…really excellent,  absolutely riveted from start to finish, great pace and such slick scene changes so professional. Congratulations to everyone, acting, directing, stage management and tech all top notch.  Very happy with my raised seat perfect for my newish hip 😁lovely to see you all too, it’s been ages 😘🤗. Great set too" Cressida S
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"I agree: what an excellent show! Four excellent performances… well, eight — the choreography of the stagehands was a brilliantly integrated part of the evening. Congratulations to everyone involved, especially Allison for bringing a wonderful script to vivid life for us. A world premiere too!" Paul S

"A triumph! And that’s the truth! And what a privilege to have a world-class writer devote his evening to us (thanks to Allison)! A genuine coup, in our 75th year." Cecilia C

"Superb production 👏 well done everyone involved - absolutely loved it! Bravo!" Jo H

"Fantastic energy from cast & superb slick back stage management! Congratulations to all involved!" Imogen M

"a brilliant evening" Kay P

"Honestly, THE TRUTH tonight was a tour de force.  Absolutely spot on.  Incredible timing, so funny and unsettling. Comic and tragic and uplifting. Easily West End standard if not higher.  Even  watching the set changes was a delight. Congratulations to everyone. " Tessa D

"Congrats again to the Truth-ers! Barnstorming performances by all and an excellent production" Richard S

"The Truth is such a good script. We saw four wonderful performances last night and you all had us eating out of the palm of the your hands. Great movement and pace lifted the story off the pages. Staging in the round brought us all closer and the direction allowed the actors plenty of scope to use the space well. A show that fully deserves to be sold out." Chris H

"Great play and matching performances. Very impressive” Anon

"Really good show last night, Possibly the best I've seen. It really didn't feel like an amateur production. Very professional" Anon

"Thoroughly enjoyed the play last night. Well done to everyone involved, actors, back stage crew and director. Beautifully staged, very funny and nice and pacy. Shout out for super live guitar playing. Congratulations all" Neil C

"What a show. Captivating entertaining and provocative. Cleverly staged and most of all sensitively and expertly played. Congratulations. Thankyou for a great show....." Simon

"Haven’t really spoken since Thursday…. But what a brilliant show that was! Solvene and I were saying we will certainly remember it like one of the best shows we have seen (and I am not talking about only the St Michael’s Players' shows). It was absolutely spellbinding, funny, uncomfortable with a thrilling pace. And the 4 hander works so well, you seem made to perform along each other. Your timing in such a tricky play (where I think average acting would absolutely ruin the running of the play) was extraordinary. It is also quite amazing that we can forget we know you so well when you are on stage and only see the play and your characters and not ‘you’ playing. Bravo! A performance for the ages!! David you are a perfect intellectually limited French scumbag and Lal you are such a cunning broken enamoured devil. Vive la🇫🇷 !" Nic and Solvene

"We can’t stop thinking of your wonderful performances in The Truth - a funny, thought-provoking and ultimately strangely touching play - delivered beautifully by you all. Hope the rest of the run went well and Biggest Love xxxxx ❤️😁💕" Julian

Pictures

Programme
2407_truth_prog.pdf
File Size: 805 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Cast

​Michel (David Burles)
Alice (Elizabeth Ollier)
Laurence (Arabella Harcourt-Cooze)
Paul (Guy Fairbank)

Crew

​Director (Allison DeFrees)
Assistant Director (Rachel Fay)
Stage Managers (Christine Lee, Susan Johnson)
Lighting (Andy Rooney, Gareth Sammer)
Sound (Gareth Sammer)
Set (Holly Tisson, Alicia Sammer, Gareth Sammer, Chris Hulatt)
Props (Susan Johnson, Marcella Meneses Richardson, Lilou Schneekloth-Goldberg)
Costumes (Vicki Belcher, Pennie Bayliss and the cast)
Hair and make-up (Alicia Sammer, Teena Heer)
Publicity (Tessa Dunn)
Front of House (Members & Friends of St Michael's Players)