
Tartuffe Tickets
L.A. Present day. French media tycoon Orgon has re-located to Tinseltown with his family, his heart set on becoming Hollywood royalty. With a new studio to his name, and a palatial Beverly Hills mansion, his empire seems infallible. But all is not as it seems as Orgon falls under the seductive spell of Tartuffe, a radical American evangelist. So comprehensively has Tartuffe hoodwinked Orgon that he looks set to steal his fortune, drive away his son, seduce his wife and marry his daughter.
L.A. Present day. French media tycoon Orgon has re-located to Tinseltown with his family, his heart set on becoming Hollywood royalty. With a new studio to his name, and a palatial Beverly Hills mansion, his empire seems infallible. But all is not as it seems as Orgon falls under the seductive spell of Tartuffe, a radical American evangelist. So comprehensively has Tartuffe hoodwinked Orgon that he looks set to steal his fortune, drive away his son, seduce his wife and marry his daughter.
Additional Information
Age restriction
To be confirmed.Running time
2hr 30min (inc. interval)Performance dates
25 May - 28 July 2018Content
Special notes
Audrey Fleurot will not be performing on these dates, the role of Elmire will be played by Sophie Duez on July 27.
Access
Venue Information
Theatre Royal HaymarketHaymarket, London, SW1Y 4HTCast Includes
Customer Reviews
27 reviews4.4Some of the best theatre I have ever seen in my life.
Loved the show. The mix of French, English and subtitles a challenge for the first 10 minute then I settled to enjoy, a great adaptation of a very old play.
The concept of the play is great - use of dual language and subtitles opens up possibilities for actors as well as audiences. However, Moliere's plays are very wordy and the French actors spoke so fast at the beginning that it was difficult to ready the text-heavy subtitles. Also,Tartuffe is a comedy, but with words hastily appearing on the "surtitle" boards and the viewer concentrating on reading rather than observing the body language of the actors, funny lines often got lost. The actors were all great, and it did get easier with time to follow the plot and the acting. I'd like to see more dual/multi language plays, but perhaps these would need to be adapted to use a bit less of the spoken word and a bit more visualisation and movement to carry the story.
Excellent production, unexpected adaptation, so relevant to current situation and extremely entertaining. Highly recommended.
This production of Tartuffe was one of the worst pieces of theatre I have ever seen. I love Molière, and the play, and was excited to see it – on the face of it, Tartuffe should be the play of the year, given that it's all about fake news, religious fanaticism, fomented division and extremism, and the exploitation of faith to gain power – hypocrisy. But the direction lacked any vision or even understanding of the play's themes. The hackneyed attempt to 'modernise' the theme of hypocrisy, by setting it in Trump's America, made the use of French in the production completely redundant, and much harder to follow. There was no jeopardy: why would Elmire not simply slap Tartuffe for his Weinstein-like behaviour, and walk off, unless she *really* stood to lose something – unless Orgon was *genuinely* frightening and dangerous in his obsession with zealotry? In this production, Orgon was just an idiot, not a dangerous idiot. The attempt to show that Tartuffe is only a symptom of a disease that actually flows from the President, by exploiting Molière's Deus ex Machina device and sending Tartuffe to Guantanamo, comes far too late in the production – it needed much more foreshadowing, not just some faux-sinister music every now and then. Only Dorine put any effort into her performance – everyone else was clearly asleep on stage. I'm furious to think that this production was given theatre space in the West End – it's probably killed productions of Molière for the next decade.
The bilingual production was interesting, but it was difficult to follow the dialogue via the digital readout. Tried too hard to be clever, with added dialogue that will date future productions. I've seen a few other Moliere performances over the decades, and this one was a bit disappointing.
A real tour-de-force. Acting and presentation superb. I particularly enjoyed the Hypocrite-in-Chief’s intervention at the end
Although familiar with the plotline, my sister and I had no real clue as to what to expect. Allow me to emphasize how positively surprised we were by this outstanding performance. It balances wit, humour and melodrama nicely and the 2hrs fly by thanks to the captivating and energetic performances of the actors on stage. It is marvellous to see them interact with the stage design, which in turn acts as a visual metaphor. The modern twist renders a work of Reneissance origin ever so relevant to the present day. Enthralling in its entirety from start to finish - well done! Would definetely see it again!
Great! how wonderful to see Tartuffe in both French and English
I think it was a very very interesting and modernised approach of the original play. I am French and maybe it is mostly attractive to French people because reading the translation in English makes a funny and very original approach. Therefore it may be difficult for English people to make the most of it. Listening to actors speaking both languages is wonderful. They are doing very well. The set is perfect ! Anyway, I had a very good time, I am just disappointed for the actors and all people working for the play that there were so few people. At least, all French should go there to see the play. There are so many students in London that you should try to attract by special means on social media and maybe a reduced price (maybe it already exists ?) As for the older French living in London, it is a mistake that they do not attend ! Thank you again for this wonderful evening ! Bravo to everyone ! yparizot@gmail.com
Dynamic and fun. The captions were well placed and easy to follow. Performances were top rate!
Thoroughly enjoyed it, the cast were excellent and the modern day production made it easier for me to understand than a period drama would have done. The theatre was sparsely populated and we had upgraded seats, many thanks! It just goes to show that it doesn't always do to go by what the critics write, on this occasion for me, they were all wrong! If it's possible, please pass on my thanks to the cast and production team for a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
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