The Moment of Truth (play)

Last updated

The Moment of Truth
The Moment of Truth play poster.jpg
The Moment of Truth London 2013 Poster
Written by Peter Ustinov
Characters
  • The Girl
  • The General
  • The Victor
  • The Foreign Minister
  • The Prime Minister
  • The Marshal
  • The Nurse
  • The Photographer
Date premiered1951
Place premiered Adelphi Theatre
Original languageEnglish
SubjectThe mechanics of toppling governments, the pretenses of war and the power of propaganda.
Genre Satire, drama, comedy
SettingThe era of World War II, inside the cabinet office and latter a desolate prison. [1]
Official site

The Moment of Truth is a satire comedy drama play by Peter Ustinov written in 1951, telling the story of a Republic on the brink of defeat, while facing the threat of a political crisis with a crippled government structure. [2]

Contents

Ustinov wrote the play inspired by French President Marshal Petain, his political relationship with Nazi Germany and the events surrounding the creation of Vichy France. The play was first premiered at the Adelphi Theatre, Adelphi in 1951. [3] [4] The play was revived in 2013 at the Southwark Playhouse in Newington Causeway, London by The New Actors Company. [5] [6] The production was directed by Rob Laycock, and opened on 26 June 2013 and closed on 20 July 2013 after 26 performances. [7] [8] [9]

Plot summary

Act One

The play opens with the anonymous Prime Minister, his Foreign Minister and General inside the cabinet office, their country on the verge of defeat as they wait for the Victor to arrive to accept their surrender. When the Victor arrives, instead of surrendering to him, they negotiate a deal to form a puppet government, where both the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister remain in power. To give legitimacy to this new government, the Prime Minister and his co-conspirators use a highly revered military hero, the retired Marshal, as the dictator of the country behind which they hide and use him as a puppet. [4] [10]

Act Two

Four years later, the General overthrows the Marshal and his puppet government, eventually liberating the Republic from foreign rule. Following a brief trial, the Marshal is sent to a remote prison. His daughter (The Girl), a Nurse and a Photographer stand by him. [4] [10]

Characters

The Marshal
An older, retired military hero who is mostly senile due to his mental condition. He often provides the comic relief in the story.
The Prime Minister
Also an older man, who has memory problems due to his advanced age. He uses the Marshal to keep himself in power.
The General
The head of the Republic's armed forces, he later overthrows the puppet dictatorship and liberates the country.
The Girl
Daughter of the Marshal. Unlike all the other characters, she is only one who is named. She has 13 different names including Beatrice and Cordelia.
The Victor
The leader of the enemy country hostile to the Republic. He later agrees to the Prime Minister's plan for a puppet government.
The Photographer
He captures the daily life moments of Marshal, which can be later used by the press whatever way they want.
The Nurse
She takes care of Marshal. She stands by him even during his imprisonment.
The Foreign Minister
The co-conspirator of the Prime Minister who helped form the plan to use the Marshal as their puppet dictator.

Revival

In June 2013, the play was revived by The New Actors Company and performed at the Southwark Playhouse in Newington Causeway, London. [11] [12] [13]

Cast of 2013 Revival

Film adaptation

The play was adapted as a TV film for the Sunday Night Theatre, a long-running series of televised plays created by BBC and aired on 6 March 1955. [14] [15] Peter Ustinov himself played the role of The Marshal while rest of the characters were played by Peter Cushing as The Prime Minister, Jeanette Sterke as The Girl, Walter Rilla as The Victor, Donald Pleasence as The Foreign Minister, Hugh Griffith as The Photographer, Ian Colin as The General and Noel Hood as The Nurse.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Ustinov</span> British actor, director and writer (1921–2004)

Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephant and Castle</span> Area in London, England

Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The name is derived from a local coaching inn.

The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. It was the fourth of the public theatres to be built, after The Theatre (1576), the Curtain (1577), and the theatre at Newington Butts – and the first of several playhouses to be situated in Bankside, Southwark, in a liberty outside the jurisdiction of the City of London's civic authorities. Its remains were excavated by archaeologists in 1989 and are listed by Historic England as a Scheduled Monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Swan (theatre)</span> Former theatre in London, England

The Swan was a theatre in Southwark, London, England, built in 1595 on top of a previously standing structure, during the first half of William Shakespeare's career. It was the fifth in the series of large public playhouses of London, after James Burbage's The Theatre (1576) and Curtain (1577), the Newington Butts Theatre and Philip Henslowe's Rose (1587–88).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Theatre</span> An Elizabethan playhouse located in Shoreditch, London (1576–1598)

The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse in Shoreditch, just outside the City of London. Built in 1576, after the Red Lion, it was the first permanent theatre built exclusively for the showing of theatrical productions in England, and its first successful one. Actor-manager James Burbage built it near the family home in Holywell Street. The Theatre's history includes a number of important acting troupes including the Lord Chamberlain's Men, which employed Shakespeare as actor and playwright. After a dispute with the landlord, the theatre was dismantled and the timbers used in the construction of the Globe Theatre on Bankside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonnie Wright</span> English actress and filmmaker

Bonnie Francesca Wright is an English actress, filmmaker, and environmental activist. She is best known for her role as Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter film series.

Henry Goodman is a RADA trained British actor. He has appeared on television and radio, in film and in the theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newington Butts</span>

Newington Butts is a former hamlet, now an area of the London Borough of Southwark, London, England, that gives its name to a segment of the A3 road running south-west from the Elephant and Castle junction. The road continues as Kennington Park Road leading to Kennington; a fork right is Kennington Lane, leading to Vauxhall Bridge. Michael Faraday was born in Newington Butts in 1791.

The Newington Butts Theatre was one of the earliest Elizabethan theatres, possibly predating even The Theatre of 1576 and the Curtain Theatre, which are usually regarded as the first playhouses built around London. William Ingram believes it was probably the first of the three to begin construction, and may have been the first completed.

Pete Shaw is a British author, broadcaster, programmer and theatrical producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meaghan Martin</span> American actress and singer (born 1992)

Meaghan Jette Martin is an American actress and singer best known for her work in film, television, and theatre. She is best known for her starring role in the ABC Family television series, 10 Things I Hate About You as Bianca Stratford. She is also well known for her role as Tess Tyler in the Disney Channel television films Camp Rock and its sequel Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. She has also had guest starring roles in House and Jessie, and played the recurring role of Julie #2 in multiple seasons of MTV's television series Awkward. Martin also starred as Jo Mitchell in Mean Girls 2. Martin is also known for lending her voice for Naminé in the video game series Kingdom Hearts as well as voicing and motion-capturing Jessica from the video game Until Dawn. In 2019, Martin made her professional London stage debut in The Actor's Nightmare at the Park Theatre in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwark Playhouse</span> Theatre located in London

Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London, located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations.

Emily Bruni is an English actress. Bruni has worked extensively in theatre, TV and film playing leading roles across all genres. Bruni’s recent credits include playing the sniper Shooter in Martin Campbell’s action picture Dirty Angels, Slow Horses for Apple, and the one woman play, Psychodrama.

Ché Walker is an English actor, playwright, theatre director, and teacher. His musical Been So Long played at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Young Vic theatre. It was later developed into a feature film of the same name starring Michaela Coel and released by Netflix in 2018.

David William Logan Westhead is an English actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Warren</span> English photographer (born 1948)

Michael Allan Warren is an English portrait photographer and actor, primarily known for his portrait of British nobility, politicians, and celebrities. His subjects include Charles III, Constantine II, Cary Grant, Enoch Powell, Alec Douglas-Home, Sophia Loren, Louis Mountbatten and Laurence Olivier.

Anna Francolini is an English actress.

Thom Southerland is an English theatre director. He studied at Rose Bruford College. He is best known for his revivals of classic musicals in London, especially in fringe theatre. Along with his 2013 Southwark Playhouse production of the Maury Yeston musical Titanic, some of his best-received productions include:

Gina Bramhill is a British actress.

<i>All in a Row</i> Play by Alex Oates

All in a Row Live is a play by Alex Oates about a family with an 11-year-old child on the autism spectrum. The play explores the experiences of the parents of a nonverbal, sometimes violent, autistic boy and the emotions that they experience on the night before he is taken to a residential school for children with disabilities.

References

  1. "The Moment of Truth- Theatre Drama" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  2. "The New Actors Company presents: The Moment Of Truth by Peter Ustinov" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  3. "The Moment of Truth:Peter Ustinov The New Actors Company Southwark Playhouse From 26 June 2013 to 20 July 2013 Review by Howard Loxton" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Moment of Truth at Southwark Playhouse" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  5. "SHOW INFORMATION" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  6. "Alex Marker - Set Designer" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  7. "Southwark Playhouse announces three more shows" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  8. "'THE MOMENT OF TRUTH' by Peter Ustinov" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  9. "'THE MOMENT OF TRUTH' BY PETER USTINOV" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  10. 1 2 "Theatre review: The Moment of Truth" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  11. "'The Moment of Truth' in Review" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  12. "Review: 'The Moment of Truth' starring Bonnie Wright" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  13. "'The Moment of Truth" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  14. "donald pleasence (1919-1995)" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  15. "BBC Sunday-Night Theatre: Season 6, Episode 10 The Moment of Truth (6 Mar. 1955)" . Retrieved 1 August 2013.