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The Lifespan of a Fact

“Punchy performances”
Bobby Cannavale and Daniel Radcliffe in The Lifespan of a Fact at Studio 54. Photo: Peter Cunningham
Bobby Cannavale and Daniel Radcliffe in The Lifespan of a Fact at Studio 54. Photo: Peter Cunningham
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This new play about a fact-checking dispute at a magazine feels incredibly timely.

Exploring the relationship between fact and fiction, journalism and the truth, The Lifespan of a Fact is inspired by a real-life contretemps. Three first-time Broadway playwrights, Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, have adapted the book of the same name for the stage. While slender in concept, the resulting production is frequently funny and benefits from rich performances from its cast.

Jim Fingal, a fact-checking intern played by Daniel Radcliffe, butts heads with writer John D’Agata (Bobby Cannavale) over the accuracy of D’Agata’s non-fiction essay about a teenager who killed himself. Refereeing their blowout is editor Emily (Cherry Jones).

There’s a David and Goliath element to all of this, with the inexperienced Fingal facing down a powerful editor and a writer who wants him to compromise his principals.

The performances of all three are punchy and assured. They make us feel the dramatic stakes. A scruffy Radcliffe is twitchy but bright-eyed and eager as Fingal, a man who is stronger than he lets on. He brings a straight man’s sense of timing to his delivery. Cannavale brings a sense of existential exhaustion to his character along with a blowhard’s arrogant exterior. Jones also provides a distinctive energy despite being saddled with an underwritten character.

Director Leigh Silverman’s production initially feels somewhat laborious and antiseptic though, a quality enhanced by the design, with its glass panels, projected emails, and a heavy-handed soundscape of ticking clocks. But when these projections give way to an ageing Las Vegas home with faded wallpaper and 1970s green carpeting, the humanity at the heart of this intellectual battle shines through.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead starring Daniel Radcliffe – review at the Old Vic, London

Production Details
Production nameThe Lifespan of a Fact
VenueStudio 54'
LocationNew York
StartsSeptember 20, 2018
EndsJanuary 13, 2019
Running time1hr 35mins
AdapterDavid Murrell, Gordon Farrell, Jeremy Kareken
DirectorLeigh Silverman
Set designerMimi Lien
Costume designerLinda Cho
Lighting designerJen Schriever
Sound designerPalmer Hefferan
Cast includesCherry Jones, Daniel Radcliffe, Bobby Cannavale
Stage managerMartha Donaldson
ProducerBarbara H Freitag Et Al, Deanna Twain, Jeffrey Richards, Norman, Will Trice
VerdictSizzling debate about journalistic ethics with punchy performances from Daniel Radcliffe and Bobby Cannavale
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