A star was born, er, but nobody noticed #3

My fame as an actor may not have gone round the globe but it did creep slowly the five miles down the road from Twickenham to the Teddington Theatre Club (TTC).  Actually, it was probably that I heard on the grapevine (both clubs shared members) that there was a cracking play coming up with an excellent role in it for a middle-aged man.  Like all actors, 'am' or 'pro', I am a tart at heart and so off I went to try and get it.  The play was Pack of Lies written by Hugh Whitemore.

This is a gem of a play but very, very English, and English of an earlier, post-war England.  Set in 1960/61, it is a play of betrayal, both national and personal.  At its heart are a middle-aged, middle-class family, Barbara and Bob Jackson and their teen-age daughter living in that most suburban of London suburbs, Ruislip.  The play centres on Barbara, a quiet, shy, introverted Englishwoman, you might say, a typical suburban housewife of that period.  Across the road live another couple, Peter and Helen Kroger, who are 'Canadian'.  Helen is outgoing and friendly, bordering on brash in an exotic North American way which breaks down Barbara's English reserve and a real friendship blossoms.

Or at least, it seems 'real' up until the moment that a Mr. Stewart of MI5 calls on the Jacksons one evening.  Apparently, there is a man visiting the Krogers fairly regularly who is of interest to them and they would appreciate it awfully if Mr. and Mrs. Jackson would allow them the use of their spare bedroom as an observation post to watch for this man's comings and goings - but, of course, 'mum's the word', lips sealed and all that sort of thing and definitely absolutely nothing to be said to the Krogers.  Thus, Barbara's friendship with Helen is put to its first test by this small piece of deceit.  Later, it transpires that actually it is the Krogers as well as their visitor, 'Gordon Lonsdale', who is of interest to MI5 because all of them are part of a Russian spy network.  Barbara's tiny betrayal is now seen against the massive betrayal of her 'friend', Helen Kroger.  The strain on her is the emotional centre of the play.

Of course, as some of you are beginning to recall, this entire story is based on the all too true story of the Portland spy ring via which 'Gordon Lonsdale' (aka: Konon Trofimovich Molody, a Russian KGB operative) subverted an ex-navy Petty Officer and his girlfriend who both worked at the Navy's submarine HQ in Portland into betraying their country.  'Lonsdale' took his information to the 'Krogers' in Ruislip where their quiet suburban house was later found to be packed with the very latest high speed communications and micro-dot equipment. 

In 1961 all of them were arrested.  The 'Krogers', it turned out, were in fact Morris and Leontine Cohen, both American communists who had worked for Soviet espionage for decades including operations against the atomic weapons centre at Los Alamos.  There is another theatrical link to the 'Krogers'.  Whilst in Britain he set himself up as an antiquarian book dealer.  Through this trade he met and socialised with Frank Doel, the manager of an antiquarian book shop in Charing Cross Road.  Doel, of course, was the other half of a long-running exchange of letters between himself and Helene Hanff, the New York writer, who later published these letters in book form and which were transformed into both a play and film '84 Charing Cross Road', a production of which I wrote about recently.  To add a little spice to this tale, from Wiki: 

Whilst in London, the Cohens were friends with Frank and Nora Doel. Frank Doel is the bookseller whose correspondence with the author Helene Hanff became the bestseller, 84 Charing Cross Road. In her follow-up book, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, Hanff reported an anecdote told her by Nora Doel.^[2] One New Year's Eve, the Doels gave a party at which Lona Cohen (aka Helen Kroger)

"arrived looking very exotic in a long black evening dress. 'Helen, you look like a Russian spy!' said Nora. And Helen laughed and Peter laughed and a few months later Nora picked up the morning paper and discovered that Helen and Peter Kruger were Russian spies."

Better watch out, it's a small world! 

Anyway, here I am playing the very smooth Mr. Stewart from MI5 soothing away the fears of the nice, innocent and trusting Jacksons.  Be honest - what do you think of the 'rug'?  As I told you in my last tedious post on my acting career, my hair fell out in chunks after the strain of playing Barney Cashman so TTC allowed me to hire a tremendously expensive wig from the top wig- supplier in the West End.  Smooth and blond - or what?  The actress playing Barbara was one of the very best I ever worked with, Jenny Samuels (Tudor), who worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and even went on a company tour to New York with one of their productions but, like so many others, she never quite made the breakthrough and had to settle down as a spinster librarian in Teddington.  She was a very dear friend who, alas, died too early.

I really enjoyed Pack of Lies, beautifully observed and so very English of that period with emotions only hinted at but all the more painful for it.

 

Comments

[Whitewall]

David, you manage a neck tie very well. I also put you-in the photo-at a bit over 6 feet tall.

[JK]

You taking up my steganographic habits there David? Seems to me you're doing a bit of the subliminal messaging including that particular photo.

You look the spitting image of the UK version Donald Trump!

"What do you think of the rug?"

Indeed.

[Hank]

David

How is being a very smooth MI5 agent different from being a very smooth "previously owned" car sales man?

No acting required, just be yourself.

[David Duff]

Thanks, 'Whiters', but I think I have mentioned before in these hallowed columns that I am the Founder, President-for-Life and, alas, so far the only member of S.P.O.T. - the Society for the Preservation of Ties. Also, alas, I'm only 5'-10" on a good day and wearing my heels!

Dammit, JK, my 'hairpiece' is much better quality than Trump's!

Hank, those "No acting required, just be yourself" were the sort of roles I excelled in!

[Oswald Thake]

Very fetching outfit, Duffy. And the wig adds gravitas - not that it's needed, of course.

[Andrew Duffin]

"...American communists who had worked for Soviet espionage for decades..."

It amazes me that there are still people who deny that this happened, that the Comintern was real, and that Senator McCarthy - despite his undoubted boorishness and bullying - was actually acting on real suspicions and real dangers.

Reading this book http://www.amazon.com/The-Lost-Spy-American-Stalins/dp/0393335356 might open their eyes - but there are none as blind as those who won't see.

[Cuffleyburgers]

Duffers - you are Robert Redford and I claim my 10 pounds.

[missred]

Channelling Michael Cain I see.

[David Duff]

Thank you, Oswald, you are, of course, entirely right!

Andrew, I read the synopsis via your link. More or less the same thing happened to Lonsdale when he went home to Russia after being swapped for a capture British agent. Very soon he 'died' in mysterious circumstances.

'Cuffers', I know you mean well but in future can you please liken me to a proper die-hard 'Rightie' like John Wayne, not that dripping wet 'Leftie, Redford!

Dear Miss Red, you may need to go to 'Specsavers'!