David Patrick Kelly as King Sextimus the Silent spends much of his stage time engaged in a series of charades.

“The effort was an attempt to stack the deck in Lachlan Murdoch’s favor after Rupert Murdoch’s passing so that his succession would be immutable,” Gorman wrote, calling Murdoch’s actions a “carefully crafted charade.”

A Nevada commissioner ruled Mr Murdoch and Lachlan had acted in "bad faith" and called the efforts a "carefully crafted charade", according to the New York Times.

A film about complicity and denial, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” examines how a seemingly reasonable husband and wife can tacitly support this national charade.

They should not have been surprised that viewers would see through their charade and be put off by it.