"Pack of Lies," currently onstage at Little Theatre of Alexandria, is ostensibly a spy story, but powerful performances by two veteran actors turn it into an intriguing test of wills. Loyalty and the meaning of friendship are also explored in this tense drama, which is based on a true story.
British playwright Hugh Whitemore found more than the usual cloak-and-dagger material when he researched the 1961 arrest of a husband-and-wife Soviet spy team in suburban London. An American couple, to whom he gave the names Peter and Helen Kroger (Ted Culler and Sarah Holt), pretended to be Canadians living a typical middle class existence. In reality, they were part of a spy ring sending secrets to the Kremlin. British intelligence agents called upon the Krogers' neighbors, here called Bob and Barbara Jackson (J. Andrew Simmons and Karen Jadlos Shotts), to help them catch the spies by setting up a watch post in their home.
The Krogers and the Jacksons were close friends; Helen Kroger was considered an aunt to the Jacksons' teenage daughter, called Julie (Ashton Colaianni) in the play. In real life, Julie grew up to be a journalist who provided the inside story to the playwright. Her sharp eye for detail helped the writer capture the essence of the double-sided betrayal and the effect it had on her mother. Thus, the human story is played out vividly against the backdrop of a dramatic Cold War event, brought to life by a first-rate cast and thoughtful direction from Carla Scopeletis.
Scopeletis, in real life a 33-year CIA veteran, might have been expected to concentrate on the espionage and suspense elements of the tale. But faced with a poorly written, meandering first act and a second act in which the most dramatic events take place offstage, she wisely focuses on the interpersonal dynamics at work and has the cast strive for as much realistic detail as possible. The story thus becomes a tale of the government agent who coerces the civilians to cooperate, in ways both subtle and overt, and the housewife who finds betraying a friend, even one who is a spy, to be intolerable.
The British spymaster, called Stewart, was played with steely determination and single-mindedness mitigated by a suave demeanor by Jim Scopeletis the night the play was reviewed (John Barclay Burns alternates in the role). Scopeletis's Stewart is a charming shark who moves steadily forward, only baring his sharp teeth when gentler persuasion fails. Housewife Barbara Jackson, vibrantly portrayed with brittle energy by Jadlos Shotts, is a perfect foil as she struggles to appear normal even as the deception imposed upon her family causes her severe distress. Jadlos Shotts's eyes show barely disguised concern at first; later, they practically scream her mounting desperation. Yet she always remains the perfect hostess, her stiff body language and haunted expression signifying she hates Stewart even as she politely offers him tea. But her vulnerable psyche is building up a debt that will have to be paid later.
Jadlos Shotts avoids overt histrionics while calibrating Mrs. Jackson's emotional disintegration. She and Jim Scopeletis (one assumes he is related to the director, but in true spymaster fashion, no biographical information was made available) are supported by an ensemble who are all on the same wavelength, turning in richly dimensional, realistic portrayals.
Ironies abound in this tale. For example, MI5, the British spy office, manipulates innocent citizens and imposes its way in their private home to "protect freedom." And while the spies end up being the ones who are spied upon, it is not necessarily they who pay the most onerous price for their clandestine activities. This is absorbing theater provided by a cast and director skilled at storytelling, even with weak material.
"Pack of Lies" continues through March 19 at Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe St., Alexandria. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sundays. For tickets or information, call the box office at 703-683-0496 or visit www.TheLittleTheatre.com.
