By Hugh Whitemore
What would you do if you were asked to betray your best friends because the authorities believed them to be spies? Which is more important, loyalty to your friends or loyalty to your country? That’s the situation at the heart of this play, based on the true story of Peter and Helen Kroger who − at the height of the Cold War in England in 1961 − were found guilty of spying for the Russians and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. Pack of Lies focuses on the moral dilemmas that devastate ordinary people when requested by the authorities to spy on their friends. First staged in 1983, the play was successful in both London and New York, and was later filmed with Ellen Burstyn and Alan Bates. The New York City Tribune described Pack of Lies as “A highly suspenseful and continuously engrossing spy thriller.” It’s a riveting and highly entertaining play for the thinking person.
