‘The Truth’ review
‘From the fantastic performances to the well-thought-out and creatively designed set, lights, and sound, you would truly be missing out if you do not go to watch!’
The Truth by Ooook! Productions was a delightful show, full of mystery, humour, ‘eff’s, backstabbing, and paper! Directed by Olivia Mason (with Laurence Davison as executive director), the play has been curated with such energy and passion for Pratchett’s beloved novel, keeping me captivated throughout.
Credit must of course be given to Production Manager Hamish Campbell and Production Designer Carrie Cheung for their magnificent efforts in bringing the staging, lighting, and sound to a harmonious balance. There was an abundance of creativity in the way the stage was decorated with bricks, crates, the glorious printing press, and the beautiful cascading stream of printed papers that hung from the flies. Every inch of space onstage was used efficiently and effectively, creating dimension and world-building for the audience. The use of lighting was highly effective, and I must applaud Annabelle Lo and Julia Malcolm (as lighting designer and assistant lighting designer) for their wonderful work, as the lights truly worked in tandem with the usage of props. I particularly liked the use of sound and music throughout (credits to Hamish Campbell as sound designer and Harry Fines as sound operator), with the almost Medieval bard music beautifully immersing the audience into the city of Ankh-Morpork and assisting with scene transitions, though at times this felt a little jerky as the music would cut out at sudden points between scenes.
Theo Turner was brilliant as William De Worde, finding the balance between humour and edge with great proficiency. One could feel for William De Worde in his struggle to escape his father’s expectations and ambition to make a name for himself. River Blatch was a joy to witness as Sacharissa, effortlessly charming the audience with her witty nature. The dynamic duo of Nico Chambers and Elizabeth Lea as Mr Pin and Mr Tulip were marvellous, reminiscent of old buddy cop films as they lied, cheated, murdered, and swindled their way across the stage. Hannah Swaddling was fantastic as Gunilla, feisty and business-savvy, unafraid to alert Turner’s ambitious yet naïve William de Worde to the sober reality of running a newspaper.
The multi-rolling from the whole cast was massively impressive, as I genuinely found myself wondering how many people were in the cast as their abilities to distinctly separate one character from another was magnificent. Toby Hunter provided a spectacular contrast as both Boddony and Lord De Worde, with an impressively drastic difference in characterisations as the kind and protective Boddony compared to the cold, aristocratic Lord De Worde. Similar praise must be given to Beau Singleton, who shocked me with the strong vocal acting and physical characterisation applied to both Charlie and Lord Vetinari (the Chappell Roan was a fantastic touch). Elizabeth Lea, Scout Pemberton, and Olivia Saunders were all terrific in the various roles they masterfully played, including officers, gossipy ladies, creepy cloak-clad conspirators, and townsfolk. Pemberton was especially marvellous as Ron, with great control over physical acting and vocal ranges, making me giggle every time I heard ‘bugger it’.
Konstantin Evdokimov was a bouncing brooding ball of vampiric energy as Otto, with fantastic comedic timing and great dedication to physical comedy. One of the epic fight scenes (fantastically choreographed by Kate Broekman) had Evdokimov commanding the stage with great stage presence. Thomas Firth was similarly hilarious and had a great range of voices for each of his roles and perfect comedic timing, especially in a scene with Firth innocently pouring Turner a cup of tea, only for there to be a disgusting but hilarious revelation moments later.
Eliza Clark was fantastic as Gaspode, providing valuable insights into scenes, haggling Turner for money, and captivating the audience with fantastic projection and comedy. Iphis Critchlow was similarly spectacular in various roles, with great vocal projection and contrasting performances that showcased a fantastic depth of acting, from Commander Vimes, to townsfolk, to priests with marvellous stage presence that demanded the audience’s attention. Emma Henderson was delightful as zombie lawyer Mr Slant in a menacing, magnificent performance that featured a terrific line of blood across Slant’s neck and much sass between Henderson as Slant and Chambers and Lea as Mr Pin and Mr Tulip in a particular scene.
The entire cast was spectacular, shining in individual moments as well as bouncing off of each other’s energy throughout the play, making the relationships that much more dynamic and wholesome. The only thing I would say is at moments it was hard to discern what was being said during group scenes, and that the jokes needed some space to land with the audience before dialogue resumed.
The Truth was a hilarious, spooky, and oddly heart-warming show by Ooook! Productions that had me captivated and engaged from start to finish. The strong characterisations and physical acting masterfully directed by Mason and assisted by Davidson truly gave the opportunity to showcase fantastic performances from the entire cast. From the fantastic performances to the well-thought-out and creatively designed set, lights, and sound, you would truly be missing out if you do not go to watch!
By Khaliun Mark.