More Lies About Jerzy

Synopsis

Based on the life of Polish novelist Jerzy Kosinski. The émigré novelist wrote extensively about the Holocaust, but the authenticity of his memoirs was questionable.

Our Review:

28 October 2002

Earlier this year the Donmar Warehouse staged a season of five new American plays, but though one starred Gwyneth Paltrow (Proof), another featured all-male nudity (Take Me Out) and two of them transferred to longer runs elsewhere (Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train and Lobby Hero), none compare in terms of theatrical discovery and excitement to More Lies About Jerzy, first seen off-Broadway last year and now receiving its British premiere with no fanfare at all at Hampstead's New End Theatre.

I don't want to ruin that sense of discovery for you by blowing this genuinely stimulating and completely compelling play's trumpet too loudly, but how else do I get your attention?

Playwright Davey Holmes isn't one for big effects or loud gestures, either, though his play gets insinuatingly right under your skin for being about a man who was prone to them. It's based on the life of the late Jerzy Kosinski, the Polish writer of The Pa...