It isn’t impossible to get tickets to Perfect Liars Club. But when the smash-hit underground story interrogation pops up in Washington, tickets do sell out fast. “I set my phone alarm to go off 3 minutes before 1pm on the day they’re due to go on sale”, says Wendie. “I’m sometimes in a work meeting at 1pm, so I get my mom to sit by the computer”, says another diehard fan. The tickets have been known to sell out in 90 seconds flat. Even if you’re lucky, just an hour after tickets go on sale for their shows during the year, you’re likely too late.
Perfect Liars Club is clearly no ordinary storytelling event. “It’s more of a story interrogation”, says Layla, one of the show’s founders, and its trusty emcee. “Four people tell a story. Three are telling the truth, about something interesting that really happened to them. But one is completely making it up.” The first part of the show feels like well-known popular storytelling events, like The Moth, with the audience enjoying four entertaining stories. But then the real fun begins.
“The interrogation is my favorite part of the show,” says Layla. “Throughout the stories, the audience are listening out for inconsistencies, discrepancies, anything to alert them to the fact that one of the suspects might be lying. Then, when the interrogation begins, they move in for the kill!”
Audiences may pick up on dates that don’t quite match up, on slipups on the use of names, on logistical unlikelihoods, or just stories that sound impossible. “One of my favorite questions was when a suspect did a backbend on stage to answer a question about whether someone could have stepped on her hair while in that position,” says co-founder, Roz Campion. “It was also hilarious when an audience member was doubting whether a suspect had really been in a rock band, and the suspect broke into song to prove it!”
The idea for Perfect Liars Club was born from Layla and Roz’s love of storytelling, enthusiasm for helping create more fun things to do in Washington DC, and their nostalgia for the old game of ‘spot the liar’. From their first show in May 2013, they’ve been not only bringing fun and sleuthing to Washington’s storytelling scene, and providing a new platform for DC’s storytelling stars and newcomers alike, they’ve also been promoting many of the other great things to do in the city, through their Brit About Town blog.
“We love helping get people excited about their city, exploring beyond their usual turf, and getting to love their local arts scene”, says Layla, the ‘Brit About Town’ behind the blog. And it seems that the local arts scene loves them too. “We’re going to offer prizes for people who guess the liar, and we want those prizes to support our ethos of doing cool things in DC,” says Layla. “We asked some of our favorite organizations in the city to donate prizes and the response has been fantastic!” So far, Perfect Liars Club has prizes of tickets for shows at the Keegan Theatre, the Studio Theatre, SpeakeasyDC, Story League, thirst., Capital City Showcase, and Theatre Washington – as well as offerings like Capital Bikeshare memberships, and Pen/Faulkner Foundation signed books. “I think people are donating because they like that we’re doing something local and cool, not just contributing to the arts scene in DC, but also celebrating and promoting it.”
But just because you’re a shrewd Washingtonian, don’t think it’s a walk in the park. “It’s pretty hard to guess the liar,” says Wendie. “I’ve spent many a PLC night changing my mind during the stories and interrogation. I’ve been coming for many months and have only guessed the liar maybe 3 times!”
So, what are her top tips for newcomers? “Take notes! Ask questions! Question EVERYTHING!” says Wendie. “And pay attention to the details so you can question them on that. We’ve tripped people up on the smallest details.”
Capital Fringe Festival is your chance to get tickets to Perfect Liars Club, hopefully without the aid of your mom or your alarm clock. There will be a loyalty card for people who come to repeat shows at the Fringe – because every show will be totally different. Are you shrewd enough to spot the liar?
Find out at Perfect Liars Club at the Capital Fringe Festival:
Where:
Goethe Institut Main Stage
812 Seventh Street NW, Washington, DC, 20001
On the Southwest corner of 7th Street and I Street NW
A mere 3 minute walk from the Gallery Place Chinatown Metro – red, yellow
and green lines
When:
4 shows, all completely different stories! (pick up your loyalty card!)
Thursday 10th July at 6:30 – 8pm
Sunday 13th July at 6:30 – 8pm
Saturday 19th July at 10 – 11:30pm
Sunday 20th July at 7:15 – 8:45pm
BUY TICKETS HERE!
For more details visit https://www.perfectliarsclub.com/fringe
