Stephen Mangan shines in Florian Zeller's The Truth
Stephen Mangan delivers a manic, tachycardic performance as Michel in Florian Zeller's 2011 play The Truth, now revived at the Apollo Theatre. The production, directed by Lindsay Posner, is a sleek, satisfying West End night out that blends farcical comedy with profound questions about truth and deception.
The play opens with Michel and his lover Alice (Sarah Hadland) in a hotel room after sex. While Alice is troubled by guilt, Michel is more concerned with finding his socks. When accused of being emotionless, he cites his recent diagnosis of tachycardia as proof of his heart. He deflects his guilt about betraying his best friend Paul by expressing disgust at Paul's recent firing from a finance director job, fuming that 'people don't go in for ethics any more.'
A polished production with a stellar cast
The breezy dialogue, stylish costumes, and sleek sets that transform from hotel room to chic apartments all contribute to a mood of Parisian insouciance. Michel's wife Laurence (Janie Dee) hints that she knows something is amiss, prompting Michel to go on the offensive and compound his lies. He becomes entangled in a web of deceit, losing track of who knows what and who is lying to whom.
Mangan excels as the cocksure yet desperate Michel, perfectly capturing the sheepishness of being caught out. Dee brings poise to the underdeveloped role of Laurence, her beady gaze piercing Michel's secrets. Ardal O'Hanlon as Paul doesn't appear until the second half, initially seeming underpowered until he drops a brilliantly timed narrative bombshell. Hadland adeptly portrays Alice's wavering between guilt and lust, self-possession and abandon.
Zeller's exploration of identity and truth
The characters' inconsistencies are intentional. They are professional people—businessmen, a teacher, an optician—with seemingly stable lives, but chaos lurks beneath. Michel compartmentalizes himself as husband, lover, and friend, but when his certainty crumbles, his identity threatens to follow. The play recalls the works of Yasmina Reza, with Christopher Hampton's translation bringing Zeller's text to London audiences, much as he did for Reza in the 1990s.
Posner's direction serves the text without flash, resulting in a sleek night of explosive laughs. The Truth runs at the Apollo Theatre until 12 September. For more information, visit thetruthplay.com.
