Stephen Mangan and Janie Dee in The Truth [Johan Persson]

FRENCH dramatist Florian Zeller’s farce about marital deception echoes both Noël Coward’s Private Lives, in which Stephen Mangan played Elyot, and Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, though without their bite.

Opening in Paris, Michel (Mangan), a good-looking, self-absorbed Frenchman, is conducting an affair with Alice (Sarah Hadland), wife of his best friend Paul (Ardal O’Hanlon). His own wife, Laurence (Janie Dee), appears blissfully unaware of his indiscretions. Or does she?

Fluidly translated by Christopher Hampton, The Truth (which premiered here in 2016) opens with the lovers bickering in a hotel bedroom about spending more time together, before settling on a weekend in Bordeaux. There are enjoyable riffs on the different ways men and women approach infidelity, and whether lies can sometimes be acts of kindness towards those we are betraying.

Zeller toys with our expectations, and though it’s clear early on where the play is heading, there’s a clever final twist.

Mangan and Hadland play largely for laughs while O’Hanlon and Dee bring more nuance, adding shades of psychological intrigue to this entertaining caper.

Lindsay Posner’s sure-footed 90-minute production is often very funny. Mangan acts his socks off, sometimes literally, yet I preferred his edgier turn as Elyot.

Zeller has enjoyed international success with The Father and The Son, and The Truth showcases his gift for comedy. Like The Forest (at Hampstead in 2022) it’s stylish and compelling, but doesn’t linger with you.

The Truth is perfect summer fare, offering the fleeting pleasure of strawberries and cream, with designer Lizzie Clachan smoothly transporting us between locations.

until September 12
TheTruthPlay.com