The Truth
Theatre Royal Haymarket
4.7/5 based on 95 reviews (read reviews)- Opens: Thursday, 29 July 2027 -
Booking until: Saturday, 16 October 2027 - Running time: 1hr 30min. No Interval.
The Truth photos
The Truth description
The Truth is Florian Zeller's comedy about two couples, one affair and the lies that hold everything together.
Michel has been having an affair with Alice, the wife of his closest friend Paul. Neither of them wants their spouses to find out, and Michel in particular has built his life around not being caught. As the secret becomes harder to keep, and Michel's wife Laurence begins asking questions of her own, it becomes less and less clear who is deceiving whom, and how much each of the four already knows. Zeller turns a familiar set-up into a sequence of reversals in which every confession seems to open another door.
An Olivier-nominated comedy, it received its English-language premiere at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2016. Lindsay Posner's revival with this cast ran at the Apollo Theatre in 2026, where critics called it "sophisticated fun" (Time Out), "hugely entertaining" (The Telegraph) and a "chic, clever comedy" (Financial Times). The production now returns to the West End at the Theatre Royal Haymarket for a limited season ahead of a UK tour to Brighton, Salford, Birmingham and Glasgow. It runs for approximately 90 minutes without an interval.
The play is written by Florian Zeller, the Oscar-winning French writer whose plays include The Father, The Mother and The Son, and translated by Christopher Hampton, whose work includes Les Liaisons Dangereuses and who shared the Oscar for the screenplay of The Father with Zeller. Director Lindsay Posner staged both the 2016 premiere at the Menier Chocolate Factory and the 2026 West End revival, with set and costume design by Lizzie Clachan, lighting by Richard Howell and sound by Adam Cork. Simon Friend and Hanna Osmolska produce for Melting Pot.
Stephen Mangan plays Michel. A Tony Award nominee for The Norman Conquests on Broadway, he is also known on screen for Episodes and The Split. Ardal O'Hanlon, familiar from Father Ted and My Hero, plays Paul. Sarah Hadland (Miranda, The Job Lot) plays Alice, and double Olivier Award winner Janie Dee plays Laurence.
Book tickets for The Truth at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and watch four people try, and fail, to keep a secret.
Playing at Theatre Royal Haymarket
Age restrictions
Ages 12+.
Important information
Contains discussion of infidelity, adult language and references.