Moments of truth and lies

The Lie, By Florian Zeller, translated by Christopher Hampton, directed by Ross Jolly, at Circa Theatre, until May 5.

Walking into the theatre for Circa’s latest play The Lie, by French playwright Florian Zeller, the audience is confronted with a large sign that says ‘‘lying is a sign of love’’, which aptly sums up what this fascinating play is about.

On the surface, it appears predictable: the wife Alice (Claire Dougan) sees Michel (Andrew Foster), the best friend of her husband Paul (Gavin Rutherford) kissing a woman outside a shop, but she isn’t Michele’s wife Laurence (Bronwyn Turei). Alice wants to tell Laurence but Paul tries to dissuade her.

As it progresses, there are many hints that all is not as it seems, and a type of game develops about whether the truth is ever really what it seems and is lying the better option.

Many in the audience may feel decidedly uncomfortable about their own lives while watching how these two couples treat each other.

As the ‘‘he said-she said’’ plays out, the lines between truth and lies become more blurred.

On a very chic set designed by Andrew Foster that has the audience sitting on three sides, the actors play out the truth or lie games with great confidence and finesse.

Dougan portrays the pivotal character of Alice perfectly, creating many layers of disdain, coolness, heartfelt remorse and mercilessly shifts the character’s stance on lying and truth to great effect.

As her husband Paul, Rutherford is a perfect foil, playing her at her game, but then becoming her pawn, playing out the subservient husband with great feeling.

In the smaller roles of the friends Michel and Laurence, Foster and Turei maintain the style and of the production, complementing perfectly the nuanced performances of the main characters to make this fascinating and intriguing play well worth watching.