5 star acting, 3 star play
Menier Chocolate Factory
The critics lavished praise on Jesse Tyler Ferguson‘s portrayal of Truman Capote (‘captivating’ LondonTheatre) but were disappointed by Jay Presson Allen‘s play (‘shapeless’ Telegraph). They loved Paul Farnsworth‘s set which changed the whole auditorium into a replica of Capote’s apartment.
4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑
The Guardian‘s Mark Lawson made the point: ‘Here is a particularly frustrating example of an at least five-star performance of an at best three-star script. I’ve split the difference while wishing Tyler Ferguson a different text. A new play about Capote would require him to offer a stronger defence about treacherous use of others’ lives than a Broadway museum piece that sounds oddly light about addiction and betrayal.’
Aliya Al-Hassan reviewing for LondonTheatre praised the star: ‘Ferguson is captivating in the role: camp, catty, and totally unapologetic. Capote is a distinctly unlikable character in many ways, categorising his friends into ‘A’ or ‘B’ lists in a conversation with his florist and name-dropping at every opportunity. But Ferguson also elicits a huge amount of sympathy for this damaged man who struggles with alcoholism, narcissism, and, ultimately, acute loneliness. It would be easy to tip into parody of Capote’s unique vocal pitch and intonations, but Ferguson strikes a considered balance.’ And the set: ‘It’s unlikely you will see a more detailed and thoughtfully contructed set: Paul Farnsworth’s utterly immersive design transforms the whole space into Capote’s New York residence, complete with handwritten notes, his collection of paperweights, crammed bookcases, and framed photos on every surface. It feels like a deeply personal space into which we are invited. Seating is dotted around on sofas, armchairs and stools so audiences feel they are an active and valuable part of the production.’
Clementine Scott for BroadwayWorld commented: ‘This Capote gains sympathy for his lonely melancholy after a lifetime of social climbing, but loses it with his ruthless callousness towards his friends (…) This version of Capote meanders from his childhood, to his alcoholism and suicidal ideation, and back to celebrity namedropping, without ever dwelling too much on any one theme. The effect is gossipy and alluring, but Presson Allen sometimes strays dangerously far from the point.’
Writing for WhatsOnStage, Sonny Waheed said: ‘Tru delivers a beautifully realised evening in the company of one of the great wits of the last century, led by an understatedly magnetic Ferguson and housed in a remarkable set that puts you right inside Capote’s apartment. Despite the story never quite building to anything substantial, it is rarely less than great fun and every so often it catches you with something much sadder. Well worth pulling up a chair for.’
3 stars ⭑⭑⭑
The Times’ Dominic Maxwell exhorted: ‘If you want to see a really fine performance, go see Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Truman Capote inTru.’ He continued: ‘And if you want to see — or be in — a really fine set, come and be wowed by how the designer Paul Farnsworth has turned the Menier Chocolate Factory in London Bridge into an outsized reimagining of Capote’s brown-and-burgundy New York living room.’ There had to be a catch: ‘If you want to see a really fine play… well, two out of three ain’t bad.’ He concluded: ‘It’s a beguiling novelty for a while, yet it’s interesting rather than really dramatic.’
The Stage’s Sam Marlowe found: ‘for all Tyler Ferguson’s magnetism, Tru is too brittle, bitchy and self-interested to care much about. He’s mildly diverting company, for a while; but that’s not enough, unfortunately, to sustain the play.’
Time Out‘s Andrzej Lukowski loved the set that turns the Menier into Capote’s apartment: ‘The actual play can’t really live up to the magnificence of the setting. That’s not the fault of performer Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who offers a funny, often very poignant channeling of the Alabama-raised author and socialite. That distinctive voice could so easily fall into parody – it was half a parody already. But Ferguson brings Capote to life’. He noted: ‘Ferguson’s lugubrious tone and charismatic performance – witty, self-pitying, caustic, irrepressible – does a hell of a good job of persuading us that this is one continuous coherent train of thought. But the fact is it’s not, as inevitably he moves from subject to subject without an entirely satisfying structure.’
The Standard‘s Nick Curtis talked about the set: ‘Come for Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s waspish performance as Truman Capote, stay for Paul Farnsworth’s magnificent, immersive set. In Rob Ashford’s staging of Jay Presson Allen’s almost-monologue, the audience is seated around a sumptuous evocation of the writer and social gadfly’s overstuffed New York apartment.’
2 stars ⭑⭑
Claire Allfree for the Telegraph didn’t like it: ‘The problem is not Ferguson, who captures not only Capote’s needling combination of self-loathing and hubris but also his curious physical tics, while managing to make him both intriguingly complex and interestingly unlikeable. No, the difficulty is Allen’s shapeless monologue, which never finds a convincing dramatic framework: to whom Capote thinks he is talking when he acknowledges the audience directly is a question not so much left unresolved as barely even considered.’ She summed up: ‘In the end, watching Tru is a bit like attending a party full of strangers and spending the whole evening wondering exactly why one bothered.’
Critics’ average rating 3.3⭑
Tru can be seen at The Menier Chocolate Factory until 14 November 2026. Buy tickets from the theatre
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