Mike Daisey’s ‘Truth’

Truth is one of Mike Daisey’s earlier monologues, from 2006. The subject: fabulists. Daisey’s own description of the show (scroll down on the page to see it):

TRUTH follows the fictional and nonfictional stories of James Frey’s (author of A Million Little Pieces) self-destruction, the sordid and shocking tale of J.T. LeRoy, (The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things) a world-famous transsexual author whom the world learned ultimately didn’t exist, and Fernando Pessoa, a Portuguese poet whose great works were written by warring multiple personalities inside his head. These stories are reflected against an autobiographical accounting of Daisey’s own history of lying and telling the truth in an attempt to illuminate the uncertain landscape of the emotionally true, the literally true, and the constant struggle to speak the truth.

Jason Zinoman, in his review of Truth for the NYT:

He admits that he once fabricated a story because it “connected” with the audience. After telling this lie over and over again, it became so integrated into the architecture of his piece that it became impossible to remove or, perhaps, to distinguish from what really happened. Mr. Daisey seems embarrassed by this confession, but he also pursues the issue further. Is lying acceptable when in service of a greater truth? What does truth mean in the context of art?

(Thanks to DF reader Doug Stewart.)

★ Friday, 16 March 2012