Tartuffe

Synopsis

The religious hypocrite Tartuffe has wormed his way into the once ordered household and vulnerable heart of substantial merchant Orgon. Under the guise of piety, he looks set to succeed in driving away the son, marrying the daughter, seducing the wife, imprisoning Orgon and leaving the family destitute. Railed against as a sacrilegious outrage by the Church, the play was banned from public performance by Louis XIV in 1664.

Our Review:

7 March 2002

Incroyable. A Moliere play at the National. It's only taken ten years since the last time one of our national subsidised companies mounted a production of this scandalously under-performed playwright.

Perhaps it's the thought of 17th-century rhyming couplets that are deemed to be off-putting. There's no danger of that here as Ranjit Bolt's exceptionally lively and racy version entertains from the outset. Wisely eschewing the temptation to reproduce Moliere's Alexandrine verse, his translation manages the perfect blend of satire and slapstick in this story of a religious hypocrite who worms his way into the home of the wealthy Orgon. Bolt even manages to hit a few modern targets with his sly references to the 'middle way'.

The main attraction of Lindsay Posner's production is undoubtedly Martin Clunes (pictured) as Tartuffe, a man behaving very badly indeed. One of the strengths of the play is that Tartuffe doesn't appear until nearly an hour into proceedi...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com - 28 March 2002:

This is a great production with a superb cast!! Well worth going to see!...

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