Fake

by Eric Simonson, Francis Guinan (Contributor), Kate Arrington (Contributor)

Oscar-winning and Tony-nominated writer and director Eric Simonson explores the most famous archeological hoax in history. Alternating between 1914 and 1953, journalists and scientists set out to uncover who planted the Piltdown Man skull. Everyone's a suspect, including legendary Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance Kate Arrington, Coburn Goss, Francis Guinan, Alan Wilder and Larry Yando. Fake is part of L.A. Theatre Works Relativity Series featuring science themed plays. Major funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to enhance public understanding of science and technology in the modern world.

Genres: Audiobook, Plays, Historical Fiction, Historical, Drama, Anthropology

1 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fake was a lovely little surprise while I was on Friday night extra-curricular shuttle duty. The dramatization of two key moments in the story of the infamous Piltdown Man (a skull found in 1912 by Charles Dawson that was reported to be the elusive "missing link"): its introduction to the world at large in the nineteen-teens, and its final repudiation as a hoax in the nineteen-fifties.

The play pretends it is about Piltdown Man and the ways in which hoaxes damage our trust in science, and, thereby, all of us (which is particularly relevant during our second year of COVID and the tidal wave of vaccine refusal), but, really, Fake is an excuse to bring together two dazzling historical figures -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Rebecca Eastman -- to present lucid and balanced debates about "belief," spiritualism, religion, spirituality, and atheism, to present a light criticism of monogamy (while not straying so far into condemnation of the practice as to ruffle the feathers of playwright [auhor:Eric Simonson]'s audience), and to gently suggest that we should stop worrying so much about where we came from (both religiously and scientifically) and where we are going (ditto), and maybe start worrying a little more about who we are where we are at in the present.

I listened to the full cast recording from L.A. Theatreworks, and the excellent performances of Simonson's marvelous dialogue have convinced me that this is a play I need to direct ... and soon.

How did it take me so long to find Fake? I don't know. It must have been a conspiracy to silence Simonson. Yeah ... that's it. I'll believe anything.

[Gary Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone loves a good hoax, right? In 1912, archaeologists in Piltdown, England unearthed a skull purported to be from a creature providing the missing link between man and ape. The large humanoid brain-case and more ape-like jawbone led to a celebration of the discovery of the first Englishman.

By 1953, the Piltdown skull was debunked as fakery. That was the easy part. But who was the hoaxer? Why and how did he (or she) do it? What was the role of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries?

Eric Simonson’s Fake is a full-cast production of his play that moves between the time of the discovery and the time of its debunking. Simonson is interested in why anyone would choose to mislead or ignore science and scientists, a notion with obvious contemporary relevance. Other thematic issues include the interplay between science and religious faith, and the ethics of politicizing science.

The audio version of Fake is just over two hours long, which includes an interesting interview with Russell H. Tuttle, Professor of Anthropology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago. A bonus for me in this production is that the outstanding cast includes several members of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater who I have seen in various productions over the years.

Thanks to AudiobookSYNC for providing free temporary access to this title.

[Bexa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a free audio book through Audio Sync summer reading program.

LATW provides an audio book every year to AS, which is great because I love full cast narrations, but I have yet to enjoy one that they produce.

I'm not really sure the point of this book? The Piltdown Man was a fake, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was obsessed with the Spiritualism and wanted to prove it correct, and the group of men that had found the bones and believed they were correct wanted the fame.

The acting was good, but I didn't really get where the play was going. Besides the debate about whether or not the Piltdown Man was real, there was a scholarly debate, Spiritualism, and a random affair.

[Susy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25 stars
Short, OK play with full cast audio that couldn't really keep me engaged.

Characters 5
Atmosphere 4
Writing Style 5
Premise 5
Execution/Plot 4
Execution/Pace 4
Execution/Setup 4
Enjoyment/Engrossment 4
Narration 6

[Autumn Riehemann · Rating 1 out of 5]

i don't really have any feelings towards this. it was funny here and there, i guess. i liked how it was spoken as a play with several actors but i didn't really care for it as a whole. meh,, nothing against the writing- just not my style

[Gil · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Fake”
By: Eric Simonson
Narrated by: Francis Guinan, Kate Arrington, Coburn Goss, Alan Wilder, Larry Yando
Length: 2 hrs and 5 mins
Published June 1st 2010 by LA Theatre Works

I have been looking into several plays lately (for reasons yet to be discussed) and having know the quality works put out by L.A. Theatre Works, I've been diving into several of their productions. This is one of the them and I'll let you know the acting and audio production is superb as always. This manner not only gets me familiar with plays it also lets me know how talented individuals have translated these plays.

I'm not looking for any specific type of play, just wanting to know more of what's out there. My reviews here are a bit short, since I am just looking for a summary for now, some plays have stood out and I have a bit more to say, so just bear with these performance reviews, and know there's a reason to my madness. I'm still reading and listening to regular prose books/audiobooks, so they'll be interspersed with the other reviews. (eventually)

This play discusses the events that led to the debunking of “The Piltdown Man” In 1912, archaeologists in Piltdown, England discovered a skull purported to be from a creature providing the missing link between man and ape. In 1953, the Piltdown skull was debunked as fake. Simonson spends the play time to try to figure why and whether well known author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was involved.

Intermingled with discussions of politics and religion the answer is never really discovered. However, listening to this performance the audience does get the chance to wax philosophic. Entertaining and even thought provoking this looks like it may be a fun play to produce. I'm putting this toward the top of my list.

[Myra · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the free audiobooks from the YA summer reading program SYNC audiobooks. And it was the second one from this summer that I only finished because it was an audiobook and I was listening on my walks. And I probably would not have finished this one if it had been any longer than it was.

LA Theater play about the Piltdown man fake. Sadly, very little of the play talks about the science. Instead, it's more of a soap opera dealing with the relationships of the characters in the play. Honestly, the interview with the university professor of anthropology at the end is far better than anything in the play.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually don't love full-cast audio plays, but this one worked better than many. I do appreciate the LA Theaterworks productions that attempt to address scientific ideas and issues in an accessible way. This did it with the Piltdown (forged) fossils. It turned it into a mystery and the characterization made it interesting. I was more interested in the expert discussion following the actual production, though, where they considered the details behind it; it worked better following the play, though, than as a stand-alone piece.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audiobook was a recording of a theatrical performance, complete with audience applause at the conclusion. This gave it a very different "feel" and pacing than a traditional audiobook, and for some reason I felt I had to concentrate more to follow the story. Maybe it was the lack of a narrator to help distinguish the different characters, where watching a theatrical production would eliminate the confusion that sometimes arose out of only having voice cues to differentiate them.

Very interesting story line.

[Jennifer W · Rating 3 out of 5]

While in the hospital, I was able to listen to Fake. It was different than most audiobooks I listen to, it was a cast production play which was performed in front of an audience. I liked it for the story, but I'm not sure I would listen to another production like that. Especially because the narrators voiced multiple people and I couldn't keep track of who was who at times. But it was under 2 hours long and about a hoax I hadn't heard of before.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this because it was part of the 2020 Audiobbok.sync summer offerings. I hadn't heard about the Piltdown Man before listening to this story. It was interesting, and well-acted and well-produced, but the story was really not compelling.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little thing, deranged Sir Arthur Conan Doyle steals the show

[Shanna Klutts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually I am all about a whodunit and love any mention of my favorite sleuth, but this just fell a little flat. The actors did a good job with the material, I just felt there wasn’t enough story behind it...too rushed. I didn’t get much in the way of the relationship of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to everyone else. I got the whole spiritualism and the need for him to be believed, but I didn’t really understand the relationships of the characters. Needed a bit more in the exposition. The two timelines were also a bit confusing until I understood that we had gone forward several years...it would have been better to see it or read it rather than just hear it. I felt like a blind person at a play...having to guess what was being done and figure out what’s what. But it was witty, humorous and enjoyable.

[Mary Havens · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only stuck with this because it was 90 minutes of audio.
If I had known about the Piltdown Man before this play, maybe I would have cared? I spent most of the very short play wondering why this subject. It seemed like a regular drama (love triangle in one, a Nellie Bly type story in the other) of any 1 hour TV show and they needed to hang it on some sort of historical event. And Simonson picked this fake missing link?? IDK....it was out of place.

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Piltdown man

Eye opening stuff. I had not heard of the Piltdown man before this. Interested to learn that Charles Dawson’s forgeries were only confirmed in 2016. I’d like to hope that someone will write a book on this!
This dramatization featuring the main players at the time was rather clever. Be sure to listen right to the end, as there is an interview with an archaeologist that sheds more light.

[TwitchyRedPen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Possibly one that would have been more enjoyable just reading as a script, where names and time shifts would be clear. This predates Dawson being fingered as almost certainly the hoaxer, so I can forgive that. Overall seems kindof over-fictionalized? Like the Piltdown Man mystery was set-dressing for a more human-interest-y story of politicking and faith and so on.

[Ltorrealba · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this as a free audiobook download, and I do NOT recommend it on audio. It turned out to be just an audio recording of a play - at times it was difficult to follow what actions were happening on stage, and all the characters' voices were extremely difficult to differentiate. Because of all this, I can't even really give the story itself a rating.

[Megan Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

"'Who'd imagine you might go so far as to plant a fake skull to prove a point?...... I think you were planning to expose the fraud and make your point. The same point you make with this book.'

'What might that be?' ....
'What's the point?'

'The point is just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there!'"

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this sharp and thoughtful play about the Piltdown Man hoax. I think plays are my favorite historical RPF format... Not yet sure that historical RPF is my favorite kind of play but it may very well be.

[Alicia Weaver · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite LA theatre works production. But also not a topic I find super interesting. It is the story of the “fake” human skull found. Turns out it wasn’t.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mystery drama that involves Conan Doyle in a hoax. Interesting ideas about the hoax.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dramatization of the investigation of Piltdown man that led to it being uncovered as an archeological hoax.

[Tara Scherner de la fuente · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew I wasn't into listening to plays. I gave it a try. I'm still not into listening to plays.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

[Sally Banfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting scientific connection at the end of the LATheater Works production

[Tara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan of listening to plays--I miss too much of what's going on without seeing (or at least reading) stage directions, etc.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a recording of a play, and I loved that it was a full cast audiobook.  It was an easy listen with an interesting concept and I had a good time with it.