Lying Kind, The

Constables Blunt and Gobbel have one last duty to fulfil before they clock off on Christmas Eve: to tell the old couple at number 58 some terrible, terrible news. But what if the shock is too much for the frail pair to bear? Maybe they’d be better off not knowing. And maybe the hapless constables would be better off if they hadn’t got themselves stuck in the middle of a lynching organized by a group of anti-paedophile vigilantes. Read more …

Multiple misunderstandings, a stray Chihuahua and an apparently transvestite vicar contribute to the escalating mayhem in Anthony Neilson’s hilarious pitch black farce which is being revised for this new Tron Theatre Company production.

The critical consensus

What follows is a riotous set of slapstick routines that lob assorted contemporary grenades into a well-trodden comic path.

(*) Neil Cooper, Coffee-Table Notes, 08/07/2017

The Lying Kind is a complete and utter farce- in the best possible way. It is absolutely ridiculous from start to finish and very clever with it.

(*) Natalie O'Donoghue, Broadway World, 08/07/2017

Gives Anthony Neilson’s script delightful West of Scotland accents, with a top notch ensemble.

(*) Paul F Cockburn, Broadway Baby, 11/07/2017

It is difficult to ignore the by-numbers nature of the play’s construction and execution, which becomes increasingly laborious and predictable as the evening wears on.

(*) (*) (*) Allan Radcliffe, 10/07/2017

It’s fun. It’s frantic. But it feels simplified and safe.

Christine Irvine, Exeunt, 14/07/2017

There are unquestionably laughs in The Lying Kind but they are suffocated by a pervasive sense of discomfort and confusion. The cast perform admirably but even their obvious instincts for a good gag aren't enough to rescue a deeply flawed script.

(*) (*) (*) Liam Hainey, The List, 17/07/2017

Tron audiences had the right to expect better when they learned that Christmas was coming early to their theatre.

Mark Brown, Scottish Stage, 18/07/2017