Stephen Mangan is hilarious in the revival of Florian Zeller's painfully funny infidelity comedy The Truth, now playing at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. The production, directed by Lindsay Posner and running until 12 September 2026, offers a concise evening of polished, light entertainment with a strong cast and reasonable ticket prices.
A Classic Farce Setup
The play opens with a classic farce setup: a rumpled bed from which Mangan's Michel emerges, looking roguishly pleased, next to the equally rumpled but less satisfied head of Alice (Sarah Hadland). Alice is, as we soon discover, Michel's best friend's wife. Over 90 tightly-plotted minutes, it becomes clear that neither Michel, Alice, nor their cuckolded spouses Paul and Laurence would recognise the truth if it bit them.
This revival was a hit in 2016 at the Menier Chocolate Factory and now returns with extra star power. Mangan fans won't be disappointed; his performance is more than worth the entry fee. He brings irresistible hangdog charm and ageing himbo vibes to Michel, who believes he is successfully deceiving everyone around him.
Mangan's Epic Tantrum
Mangan's epic tantrum on discovering he is the more deceived is hilarious: utterly hypocritical and heartfelt. His arc drives the story, and when he commits to his outrage, it lifts the comedy to a gripping level. However, on opening night, the comic ensemble stopped just short of being sublimely funny.
Prolific French writer Florian Zeller's four-hander, translated by Christopher Hampton, is surprisingly talky for an adultery comedy. There is no lurking behind designer Lizzie Clachlan's poised, unused sofa, no desperate wrestling for the phone – hardly any of the farcical business that can play so richly on stage. Instead, we get layers of self-serving, sophisticated back-and-forth about the nature of truth.
Layers of Deceit
Each of the seven scenes is a two-hander that unpeels another layer off what you think you know about the mutually deluding foursome – whom we never see all together onstage. Their truth, if there is such a thing, is revealed as an impossibly complicated tissue of lies. Hampton retains French names and places, nodding to Gallic cultural stereotypes: it becomes clear these couples get more from intellectual justifications and head games than from extramarital sex.
Janie Dee brings emotional depth and a lingering, discomfiting strain of sadness as Michel's wife, Laurence. Sarah Hadland's Alice and Ardal O'Hanlon's Paul are both very funny, but their layers are harder to unpick – her apparently sincere wish to come clean and his unreadable, unbothered attitude sit oddly with subsequent revelations. Still, a little post-match headscratching doesn't dent the enjoyment in the moment.
Thought-Provoking Fun
This cocktail of evasions, delusions and selfishness slips down with delicious ease. Deceit, Michel argues self-servingly, is essential to love, marriage and civilisation. The play is pacy, sophisticated, thought-provoking fun, likely prompting intriguing conversations between couples in the bar afterwards.
The Truth runs at the Apollo Theatre, 31 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 7EZ. Tickets range from £25 to £125. Performance times vary; check the schedule for dates through 12 September 2026.
