New Forest Players 
Ballard School, New Milton 
Philip & Julie McStraw 
9 April 2025
Pack of Lies is an intriguing drama of deception and high stakes espionage; and asks the question: “How well do you really know your friends?” It has all the trademarks of a George Smiley or James Bond spy thriller, but it is in fact a rendering of actual events that took place in England between 1953 and 1961 – referred to as ‘The Portland Spy ring’. This was one of the most significant foreign undercover operations in Cold War Britain and involved a number of individuals who obtained secret research documents from the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment in Portland, Dorset, and passed them on to the Soviet Union.
The Play, written by Hugh Whitemore, started out life in 1971 under the title of Act of Betrayal, an episode of the BBC Play of the Month series. In 1983 it became a very successful West End stage play as Pack of Lies, starring Judi Dench and her husband Michael Williams. Its London success was repeated on Broadway, and it was subsequently adapted for American TV.
The script is slow moving, but it is gripping from the opening lines right through to the emotional ending. Clearly, it’s a play with some pedigree; and fortunately for us, it is now the latest production of the New Forest Players!
Set in the mundane middle-class suburbs of London, unremarkable Bob and Barbara Jackson are living happily with their teenage daughter Julie, blissfully unaware that their ‘Canadian’ neighbours and best friends Peter and Helen Kroger are active Soviet spies. The family’s world is turned upside down when they are approached by Joan Stewart, a haughty senior Civil Servant, who pressurises them into allowing their house to be used as an observation post to monitor a Soviet spy cell operating in the area. As events unfold, it is revealed the prime persons of interest include Peter and Helen, which naturally Bob and Barbara cannot believe. Barbara is badly affected by this revelation and finds it hard to come to terms with Peter and Helen’s duplicity and her own treachery in their downfall.
Judy Anders, as Barbara Jackson and Dawn Cresswell, as Helen Kroger, appear natural and completely at ease playing their parts. Judy Anders is just perfect and utterly convincing in her part as her character changes from a contented housewife in the beginning to someone on the verge of a nervous breakdown by the end of the play. Dawn Creswell is vivacious and gregarious as Aunty Helen, and her interpretation of this role provides an excellent counterpart to that of mousey Barbara. Her North American accent for the part is pretty good too.
Paul Berry plays the part of understated Bob Jackson, an amenable bloke just getting on with no fuss or bother in his life – until Joan Stewart unexpectedly turns up. Paul Berry turns in another fine performance to add to his previous successes with NFP. So too does David Luker, playing political idealist Peter Kroger. Julie Lax makes her NFP debut playing Joan Stewart, and she acquits herself well in what is a very demanding role. Maddie Beard also does well in the role of adolescent Julie Jackson. Support is ably provided by Tina Fagan, as Thelma, and Debbie Jettan, as Sally, who are Joan Stewart’s on site operatives.
The NFP production team and Director Lyn Locker have added some nice touches to the presentation of this production. The stage is arranged with a kitchen to one side and a living room on the other side, and both areas are complete with appropriate period furnishings. What is not expected though is the large video screens placed on either side of the stage which are used to show pre-recorded monologues by the main characters to provide back-ground information to whet the appetite for each scene that follows. This is a commendable technical achievement. As to be expected of NFP, the lighting and sound effects are perfectly synchronised with the action on the stage. The appreciative audience burst into spontaneous sing-a-longs with the pop music from the era that was played between scenes, and the authentic costumes and hair-dos didn’t go unnoticed either.
This is yet another quality drama from the NFP and there’s still a chance to catch it before the current run ends on 12 April.
