The Truth ★★★★★ Apollo Theatre | Jun 9 - Sep 12, 2026


When Michel embarks on an affair with his best friend’s wife, Alice, he sets in motion a tangled web of lies, misunderstandings and deceptions that bears all the hallmarks of a classic bedroom farce. Yet, while maintaining a wonderfully light comic touch throughout, Florian Zeller’s The Truth also raises intriguing questions about the complexity of relationships, the value we place on honesty and even the nature of truth itself. We like to believe that truthfulness is among the highest of virtues, yet how readily we all resort to deception. The line between tact and hypocrisy, honesty and self-interest, proves far more blurred than we might at first care to admit. Beneath the laughter in this cunning comedy lies a cool examination of the stories we tell others, and ourselves, in order to navigate our lives. The plot is packed with clever twists and reversals that are beautifully complemented by Stephen Mangan’s magnificent performance as Michel. Rarely off stage, he carries the production with seemingly effortless charm, combining immaculate comic timing with a restless physical energy that perfectly captures Michel’s mounting panic. Mangan has the rare ability to make a fundamentally selfish character not only watchable but genuinely likeable. Every evasion, every desperate improvisation and every fresh lie is delivered with such wild conviction and comic precision that we cannot help but remain on his side, even as his behaviour becomes increasingly indefensible. Mangan never allows Michel to become a mere comic caricature. Beneath the bluster and self-deception there is a recognisably human vulnerability, a man struggling to maintain the image he has created of himself while reality steadily closes in around him. It is a masterclass in comic acting and one that reminds us what a gifted stage performer Mangan can be. He is strongly supported by Sarah Hadland as Alice, the mistress whose conscience may finally be catching up with her, and by Janie Dee as Laurence, Michel’s sharp-eyed, sharp-witted wife. Dee brings a quiet intelligence and emotional depth to the role that becomes increasingly significant as the play unfolds. The Truth is close to perfect entertainment, consistently funny, brilliantly acted and far more thought-provoking than its farcical premise initially suggests. We leave the theatre having laughed heartily, but also questioning how much certainty is ever possible in our relationships. By the final curtain, a glance from Laurence and a wistfulness in her demeanour are enough to cast doubt on everything we think we know. The laughter lingers, but so do some unsettling questions. If truth is so important to us, why are we all so adept at avoiding it? And when it comes to relationships, can we ever really know the truth?

Rated: ★★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Johan Persson

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 7EZ, UK

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