THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT

About the show

A somewhat accurate, sort of factual, non-fiction story, this comic Broadway hit makes its Australian premiere in a production directed by Petra Kalive (Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes). Nadine Garner (Photograph 51) stars alongside Steve Mouzakis (Death and the Maiden) and Ngāti Toa actor Karl Richmond (Punk Rock) – making his MTC debut – in a play about an epic ideological battle over the nature of truth and the value of storytelling. While interning at an eminent literary magazine, recent graduate Jim Fingal is thrilled when his editor offers him a career-making opportunity: fact check venerated essayist John D’Agata’s exploration of a disturbing Las Vegas reality, which is going to press in five days. It sounds simple enough, but when Fingal is still unravelling the inconsistencies and literary liberties of the first sentence three days later, he realises he has a problem. So he does what any thorough young up-and-comer with something to prove would do: he goes straight to the source. It could be the biggest mistake, or the best decision, of his life. Are facts negotiable? Is art more accurate at showing the heart of the matter? Can there ever be a justifiable reason to distort reality for the greater good, and who gets to decide? Based on the critically acclaimed book of the same name, The Lifespan of a Fact is a tightrope walk of playful debate on the virtues and vices of creative non-fiction. As it cleverly dissects the slippery slope from authenticity to fakery in today's world, whose side will you be on?