''Pack of Lies'' is a 1983 play by English writer

Hugh Whitemore Hugh John Whitemore (16 June 1936 – 17 July 2018) was an English playwright and screenwriter. Biography Whitemore studied for the stage at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he was taught by Peter Barkworth, then on the staff at RADA ...

, itself adapted from his ''Act of Betrayal'', an episode of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

anthology series ''

Play of the Month ''Play of the Month'' is a BBC television anthology series, which ran from 1965 to 1983 featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays (or adaptations) which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different wor ...

'' transmitted in 1971. Based on a true story, the plot centres on Bob and Barbara Jackson (in real life Bill and Ruth Search) and their teenage daughter Julie (in real life

Gay Search Gay Search is a British television presenter and journalist. She worked on the BBC television series ''Gardeners' World'' with Geoff Hamilton, and on the series ''Front Gardens''. Search started her horticultural career writing the garden column fo ...

, later a television reporter and newspaper journalist in the UK.) The Jacksons are friendly with their neighbours, Peter and Helen Kroger, until the couple are arrested and charged with

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

in 1961. It is revealed the Krogers actually are

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

and

Lona Cohen Lona Cohen (, ''Leontina Vladislavovna Koen''; January 11, 1913 – December 23, 1992), born Leontine Theresa Petka, also known as Helen Kroger, was an American who spied for the Soviet Union. She is known for her role in smuggling atomic bomb d ...

, who during the 1950s and 1960s worked with fellow spy

Gordon Lonsdale Konon Trofimovich Molody (russian: Ко́нон Трофи́мович Моло́дый; 17 January 1922 – 9 September 1970) was a Soviet intelligence officer, known in the West as Gordon Arnold Lonsdale. Posing as a Canadian businessman during ...

photographing and encoding as microdots various pieces of material which they then sent to their colleagues in Russia, as part of a Soviet espionage network known as the

Portland Spy Ring The Portland Spy Ring was a Soviet Union, Soviet spy ring that operated in England from the late 1950s to 1961, when the core of the network was arrested by the British security services. It is one of the most famous examples of the use of reside ...

that had penetrated Britain's Royal Navy.

Productions

The original West End production, starring

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

and her husband, Michael Williams, as the Jacksons, opened on October 26, 1983 at the Lyric Theatre, where it ran for nearly a year. Dench won the

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

as Best Actress for her performance. Later in the run,

Mary Millar Irene Mary Wetton (26 July 1936 – 10 November 1998), better known by her stage name Mary Millar, was an English actress and singer best remembered for her role as the second actress to play Rose in the successful BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appea ...

replaced Dench. After five previews, the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production opened on February 7, 1985 at the

Royale Theatre The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (formerly the Royale Theatre and the John Golden Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 242 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theate ...

, where it ran for 120 performances. The cast included

Rosemary Harris Rosemary Ann Harris (born 19 September 1927) is an English actress. She is the recipient of such accolades as a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. In ...

, George N. Martin, and

Tracy Pollan Tracy Jo Pollan (born June 22, 1960), is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Ellen Reed on the sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1985–1987). Early life Pollan was born on Long Island, New York, the daughter of Corinne Elaine "Corky ...

as the Jacksons,

Dana Ivey Dana Robins Ivey (born August 12, 1941) is an American actress. She is a five-time Tony Award nominee for her work on Broadway, and won the 1997 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her work in both ''Sex and Longing' ...

and Colin Fox as the Cohens, and

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

as Stewart. Both Harris and McGoohan were nominated for a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

, with Harris winning for Outstanding Actress in a Play. Harris was also nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

. In 1987, Whitemore wrote a draft of an adaptation of his play for an American television production on ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...

'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

. He departed the production and the shooting script was written by

Jeffrey Sweet Jeffrey Sweet (born May 3, 1950) is an American writer, journalist, songwriter and theatre historian. Personal life Sweet's father was James Sweet, a science writer for the University of Chicago who aided Supreme Court chief justice Earl War ...

who was billed as "creative consultant." Whitemore was unhappy with this version and exercised the right to have the script credited to a pseudonym, Ralph Gallup. Directed by

Anthony Page Anthony Page (21 September 1935 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India) is a British stage director, stage and film director. Biography When Page was 19, he went to Canada on a free passage with the Royal Canadian Air Force and hitchhiked to New York wh ...

, the film starred

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

Alan Bates Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from the popular children's story '' Whistle Down the Wind'' to the " kitchen sink" dram ...

Teri Garr Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...

, and

Daniel Benzali Daniel Benzali (born January 20, 1946) is a Brazilian-American stage, television and film actor. Early life Benzali was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the son of Lee, a cook, and Carlo Benzali, a salesman who had also been an actor in Brazilian ...

. It received three

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations, for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special (Burstyn), and Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or a Special.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pack Of Lies 1983 plays Peabody Award-winning broadcasts Plays by Hugh Whitemore