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Theatre

Tartuffe, Theatre Royal Haymarket review ★★★★★

25 May 18 – 28 Jul 18, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

Peaky Blinders' Paul Anderson stars in a dual language Trump-era update of classic French comedy Tartuffe

By CW Contributor on 30/5/2018

30 CW readers are interested
Paul Anderson and Audrey Fleurot in Tartuffe
Paul Anderson and Audrey Fleurot in Tartuffe
Tartuffe, Theatre Royal Haymarket review 3 Tartuffe, Theatre Royal Haymarket review Lucy Brooks
One of Molière’s most celebrated comedies is given a modern and bilingual adaptation at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, with varying degrees of success.


Christopher Hampton takes this 17th century French satire and thrusts it into Trump-era America, retaining the deception from the original text while adding a new dimension of hypocrisy to match the modern day. With Peaky Blinders’ Paul Anderson as Tartuffe and George Blagden as Damis, this is a starry adaptation that fails to resonate until a surprising and clever ending.


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A bare, modern design with a moving central frame surrounds the action as Sebastian Roché’s Orgon is seduced by the fake piety of Anderson’s Tartuffe. Although not distinctly Los Angeles, director Gérald Garutti focuses on how Molière’s satire on the hypocrisy of religious fanaticism can be contextualised in America.



Paul Anderson and Audrey Fleurot in Tartuffe


The actors change from English to French throughout, and surtitles bordering the stage switch languages accordingly. The reason behind having the piece in two languages however is never made clear, particularly given its American setting. Although parts of the text are modernized, oddly Molière’s rhyming couplets aren’t mirrored in the English, which sadly detracts from the original wit of the text and creates a clunky rhythm throughout.


Some performances stand out. Paul Anderson’s Tartuffe has a Southern drawl, speaking predominantly in English, like a revivalist preacher. He’s as enchanting as he is sinister, yet his character seems somewhat out of context with the rest of this world. Roché’s Orgon is brilliantly aloof, but it’s Claude Perron’s Dorine that steals the show, providing deadpan one-liners and sardonic wit.


But the performance lags until a sharp finish reorients our understanding of this classic comedy and almost counteracts the awkward pacing that comes before. If more of the production was like its ending, this version of Tartuffe could be truly transformative.



by Brendan Macdonald

What Tartuffe, Theatre Royal Haymarket review
Where Theatre Royal Haymarket, 18 Suffolk Street, London, SW1Y 4HT | MAP
Nearest tube Piccadilly Circus (underground)
When 25 May 18 – 28 Jul 18, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Price £15
Website Click here to book now



Free for Members
Up to £30
Paul Anderson and Audrey Fleurot in Tartuffe
Booking closed
26 of May 2018

Tartuffe + Backstage Tour, Theatre Royal Hay

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What members say

    Gérald Garutti and Christophe Hampton have set themselves the challenge of bringing Tartuffe's - Molière's XVII classic comedy that French school children Read more

    Eleonore Dresch

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