Pack of Lies
{{Short description|1983 play by Hugh Whitemore}}
{{About|the play|the children's book by Geraldine McCaughrean|A Pack of Lies}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{italic title}}
Pack of Lies is a 1983 play by English writer Hugh Whitemore, itself adapted from his Act of Betrayal, an episode of the BBC anthology series Play of the Month transmitted in 1971.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jul/18/hugh-whitemore-obituary |title=Hugh Whitemore obituary |first=Michael |last=Coveney |newspaper=The Guardian |date=18 July 2018 |via=www.theguardian.com}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7cc1a5d6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731101106/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7cc1a5d6 |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 July 2017 |title=Act of Betrayal (1971) |website=BFI}}
Based on a true story, the plot centres on Bob and Barbara Jackson (in real life Bill and Ruth Search) and their teenage daughter Julie (in real life Gay Search, later a television reporter and newspaper journalist in the UK). The Jacksons are friendly with their neighbours, Peter and Helen Kroger, until the couple are arrested and charged with espionage in 1961. It is revealed the Krogers actually are Morris and Lona Cohen, who during the 1950s and 1960s worked with fellow spy Gordon Lonsdale (real name Konon Molody) photographing and encoding as microdots various pieces of material which they then sent to their colleagues in Russia, as part of a Soviet espionage network known as the Portland spy ring, which had penetrated Britain's Royal Navy.
Productions
The original West End production, starring Judi Dench and her husband, Michael Williams, as the Jacksons, opened on 26 October 1983 at the Lyric Theatre, where it ran for nearly a year.{{Cite web |url=https://theatricalia.com/play/5by/pack-of-lies/production/t4x |title=Production of Pack of Lies | Theatricalia |website=theatricalia.com}} Dench won the Laurence Olivier Award as Best Actress for her performance.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/apr/03/judi-dench-wins-record-eighth-olivier-award |title=Dame Judi Dench wins record eighth Olivier award |first=Mark |last=Brown |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 April 2016 |via=www.theguardian.com}} Later in the run, Mary Miller replaced Dench.
After five previews, the Broadway production opened on 7 February 1985 at the Royale Theatre, where it ran for 120 performances.{{Cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/pack-of-lies-4359 |title=Pack of Lies – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB}} The cast included Rosemary Harris, George N. Martin, and Tracy Pollan as the Jacksons, Dana Ivey and Colin Fox as the Cohens, and Patrick McGoohan as Stewart. Both Harris and McGoohan were nominated for a Drama Desk Award, with Harris winning for Outstanding Actress in a Play. Harris was also nominated for a Tony Award.[http://www.playbill.com/production/pack-of-lies-royale-theatre-vault-0000010204# Pack of Lies] Playbill, retrieved 3 April 2018.
In 1987, Whitemore wrote a draft of an adaptation of his play for an American television production on Hallmark Hall of Fame on CBS.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b753b4448 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230072603/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b753b4448 |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 December 2018 |title=Pack of Lies (1987) |website=BFI}} He departed the production and the shooting script was written by Jeffrey Sweet who was billed as "creative consultant". Whitemore was unhappy with this version and exercised the right to have the script credited to a pseudonym, Ralph Gallup. Directed by Anthony Page, the acclaimed film starred Ellen Burstyn, Alan Bates, Teri Garr, and Daniel Benzali.O'Connor, John J. [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/24/arts/tv-weekend-friends-and-spies-in-a-pack-of-lies.html "Tv Weekend; Friends And Spies In 'A Pack Of Lies'"] The New York Times, 24 April 1987. It received three Emmy Award nominations, for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special (Burstyn), and Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or a Special.{{Cite web |url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/pack-lies-hallmark-hall-fame |title=Pack of Lies Hallmark Hall of Fame |website=Television Academy}}
Cesear's Forum, Cleveland's minimalist theatre company, presented the play at Kennedy's Down Under, Playhouse Square in a November/December 2006 production. The cast: Julia Kolibab, Paul Floriano, Juliette Regnier. The ensemble also included Mary Alice Beck, Steven Hoffman, Tom Jessup, Alanna Romansky and Jennifer Mae Hoffman.{{cite news |last1=Howey |first1=Christine |title=Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations. |url=https://www.clevescene.com/arts/capsule-reviews-of-current-area-theater-presentations-1496948 |access-date=26 January 2024 |publisher=Cleveland Scene |date=22 November 2006}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IBDB show|6888}}
- {{IMDb title|qid=Q129714155|id=tt0093696}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pack Of Lies}}