Pack of Lies

Based on a true story, “Pack of Lies” is set in the suburban home of Bob and Barbara Jackson, who find themselves unexpectedly caught up in a covert surveillance operation focused on Peter and Helen Kroger, their friends across the street.  There are elements of a cold war thriller here: is it significant that the Krogers chose to buy an identical car to the Jacksons’?  Does Peter’s sophisticated radio indicate anything beyond a passionate interest in music?  Happily, Mr Stewart, a shadowy “civil servant”, is here to fill in the background to the case and guide us through the intrigue.  And if he reveals rather more than an actual officer of the security services would ever disclose – I found the idea that he would tell the Jacksons of the impending arrest of the Krogers particularly preposterous – then it’s as well to remember this is a play and not a documentary.  And it’s an entertaining and thought-provoking play at that: while the subterfuge provides the narrative thrust, the personal impact of such unexpected revelations in this unassuming corner of suburban Ruislip gives the piece its emotional heft. 

The director was able to draw fine performances from her talented company.  The blocking was mindful of the fact that the auditorium is relatively wide and shallow: sight lines were respected and gestures were kept modest in keeping with the space.  The prim formalities and inconsequential small talk associated with welcoming a stranger into your house were well observed, and those small but critical decisions such as whether a character should sit or stand were invariably the correct ones.  The most theatrical moments were confined to the soliloquies interspersed between many of the scenes, when various principals gave the audience some additional insight into their thoughts and feelings.  Perhaps it’s a bit of a stretch to call them “scenes” – we are presented with a series of vignettes which chart the thoughts and emotions of the key players, with some well-chosen music to reinforce changes of mood.

The quality of the production was truly impressive.  The set made excellent use of the available space and was finished and dressed to a very high standard.  The acting area was divided between the Jacksons’ kitchen stage right, and their living room stage left, the spaces delineated by the contrasting floors and by a hint of an interior wall.  The kitchen was painted in that peculiar shade of sunshine yellow which was the only legal colour for kitchens in 1960, and fitted with period cabinets including an upright dresser on the upstage wall.  The glass front to the oven looked suspiciously modern, but the detailing was terrific, from the dated crockery and the sausages wrapped in brown paper and string, to the tins visible when the cupboards were opened and the steel-legged, Formica-topped kitchen table.  The finish in the living room was just as good.

The ladies’ fashions – skirts, blouses and slacks – were well matched to the era, and the style of Bob’s suit in the opening scene appeared to be roughly the right vintage.  I’m told that Helen’s Christmas dress, being made for her by Barbara, was cut from a sixty-year-old pattern!  The make-up – plenty of lippy for the women – and hair styling and/or wigs complemented the costumes, and Barbara’s carefully coiffed locks in particular looked as if they might have emerged from under one of those vintage hood dryers.

In her programme note, the director confided that she had had concerns that a cold war thriller set over sixty years ago might seem dated to modern audiences, but I would agree with her conclusion that the play’s principal themes of friendship and betrayal are just as relevant today as they have ever been.  Indeed, the context for the drama – the malign intentions and actions of hostile powers – surely also has contemporary relevance, but the production didn’t need to draw out the parallels between this historical tale and current affairs as these were clear for all to see.  This was a thought-provoking and careful study of how the relationships within and between two households can deteriorate when trust is undermined, distinguished by a superb evocation of a bygone age.

© NODA CIO.  All rights reserved.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.