Inspired by current world events, award-winning playwright Christopher Hampton freshly adapts Molière’s comedic masterpiece Tartuffe.
Hampton transports events to L.A. of the 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.
Peaky Blinders star Paul Anderson will play the titular trickster, co-starring with French film star Audrey Fleurot, who plays Elmire, Orgon’s wife.
This thrilling new adaptation of Molière’s classic comedy, penned by Academy, BAFTA and Olivier award winner Christopher Hampton (ART, Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement), and directed by the former dramaturg of the French People’s National Theatre Gerald Garutti, will premiere as a rare dual language theatre production, alternating between English and French with surtitles throughout.
Written in 1664, Tartuffe, or The Impostor, became regarded as one of Molière’s most celebrated comedies, complete with some of the greatest classical theatre roles. Set present day in Donald Trump’s America, the play’s trenchant mockery of human frailties remains as relevant as ever in this darkly comic adaptation of the classic satire.
As befitting it host, the Theatre Royal Haymarket, which was known to the play-going world as ‘The New French Theatre’ following its opening in 1720, this adaptation of Tartuffe will alternate between English with French surtitles, and French with English surtitles, to reflect the unfolding plot.
Adaptor Christopher Hampton is an Academy, BAFTA and Olivier award winning writer and director. His screenplay credits include the Oscar-winning Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement, Ali and Nino and A Dangerous Method. His stage credits include his Olivier Award-winning adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
Don’t miss Tartuffe’s unique twist on a brilliantly cherished comedy.