The Moment of Truth (play)

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The Moment of Truth
File:The Moment of Truth play poster.jpg
The Moment of Truth Broadway 2013 Poster
Written by Peter Ustinov
Characters <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • The Girl
  • The General
  • The Victor
  • The Foreign Minister
  • The Prime Minister
  • The Marshal
  • The Nurse
  • The Photographer
Date premiered 1951
Place premiered Adelphi Theatre
Original language English
Subject The mechanics of toppling governments, the pretenses of war and the power of propaganda.
Genre Satire, drama, comedy
Setting The 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 which is about to fall, while facing the threat of invading army with crippling government structure.[2]

Ustinov wrote the play inspired by French hero Marshal Petain and his political collusion with the Nazi's and the events resulting in 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 an anonymous Prime Minister, his Foreign Minister and General inside the cabinet office, their country is on the verge of war and they are waiting for their enemy's armies invasion. When The Victor arrived, instead of surrendering they formed a scheme and offer him a deal which will give power to both of them. They uses retired Marshal, who was once a military hero now an old and senile man and made him the dictator of the country behind which they hide and uses him as a puppet.[4][10]

Act Two

Four years later, General overthrow the puppet government and Marshal who is now much older, is sent to a remote prison after sudden change in leadership of the country. His daughter (The Girl), Nurse and a Photographer who captures the daily life of Marshal stand by him.[4][10]

Characters

The Marshal
An older, retired military hero who is mostly senile and due to his mental condition often provide comic effects.
The Prime Minister
Also an older man, who has memory problems due to his advance age. He uses the Marshal to keep the power to himself.
The General
He Overthrow the puppet dictatorship and reclaims the country.
The Girl
Daughter of Marshal, all the character in the play are nameless except her. She has 13 different names including Beatrice and Cordelia.
The Victor
He is the leader of hostile population of the country and later he become part of Prime Minister's plan of 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 take care of Marshal and stand by him during his imprisonment.
The Foreign Minister
He along with Prime Minister formed the plan to use Marshal so they can keep the power to themselves.

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

  • Rodney Bewes - The Marshal
  • Miles Richardson - The Prime Minister
  • Bonnie Wright - The Girl
  • Callum Coates - The General
  • Damian Quinn - The Victor
  • Mark Carey - The Foreign Minister
  • Toni Kanal - The Nurse
  • Daniel Souter - The Photographer

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.

References

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External links

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