A Lie of the Mind

Synopsis

A Lie of the Mind involves a tortured couple, Jake and Beth, who have damaged each other irreversibly. Camped apart, their families close ranks, supposedly to protect them. But as brothers, sisters and parents come together under forensic scrutiny, the complexities that underscore each relationship on the siblings are revealed.

Our Review:

6 July 2001

The level of domestic violence in Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind is off the Richter scale, with several explosions and constant rumbling throughout.

The play opens with a distraught Jake (Andy Serkis) making a late night call to brother Frankie (Peter McDonald) in which he confesses to killing his wife. In fact, wife Beth (Catherine McCormack) is not dead but, as we see in the next hospital scene, Jake has beaten her to within an inch of her life, her body as twisted and mangled as her now damaged brain.

The couple retreat to their separate families who close ranks around each in a manner of protection akin to smothering. Neither fare well. While Beth's knocks to the skull result in blank stares and idiot-savant babblings, Jake loses his marbles in much creepier fashion thanks to the burden of grief, guilt and family secrets.

Shepard's 1986 drama, directed here assuredly by Wilson Milam, is an unsettling dissection of family loves and loy...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com - 15 July 2001:

harrowing storyline,but gripping throughout. acting doesnt get much better than this . overall brilliant...

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