Orgon and his family have a visitor. A visitor whose pious feet have settled well and truly under the table thanks to the blind naïveté of the wealthy Orgon and his self-righteous mother, Madame Pernelle. In their eyes he can do no wrong but in the eyes of everyone else he is a cheat, a charlatan and the embodiment of a hypocrite. To get rid of this parasite, they have to out- swindle the swindler before their societal roles are reversed.
English poet Roger McGough has brought his well – loved brand of wit to his adaption of Molière’s 17th century classic comedy. His version of this morality tale is a rich tapestry of puns and rhyming language that came from his reading a direct prose translation of the original, with influences from verse versions by various writers including Liz Lochhead. The dialogue contains a delightful mix of old and new with some cute nods towards French and the problems of translating idioms. They appear throughout as wonderfully cumbersome aphorisms signalled by “There’s a saying in English…” followed by delights like “behaviour shouts louder than language” or “all inflate that end inflate”.
This production has the nicely balanced image of a simple set of sprayed gold perforated boxes against which the truly exquisite period costumes - all satin, lace, sashes and buckles – are shown off beautifully. The musical joke of Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over troubled Water played on the harpsichord is a nice wee metaphor for this version of the play. The small church hall space of St Ninian’s requires some inventive direction that comes from ETA’s John McLinden.
Long standing ETA cast members Colin McPherson and David McCallum give their usual strong performances in their respective roles as the blindly loyal Orgon and the wisely astute Cleante with his comedic facial expressions. However Suzie Marshall pretty much steals the show as the clever, insightful maid Dorine. Her sassy presence as she guides her innocent employers in the ways of trickery and machinations to be rid of the creepy, sleekit scronger is brilliantly portrayed as she steers the lovely Mariane, well played by Natasha Klimek, from a dreaded arranged marriage to “Tartooth”. Tartuffe himself, he of religious sophistry and giant crucifix, is played with suitable creepiness by Derek Marshall.
A new take on Molière can be magnificent or mediocre, but Edinburgh Theatre Arts has produced a marvellous show. “God Save the King and hurrah for Monsieur Molière!”
This adaptation of Tartuffe by poet and writer Roger McGough premiered at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre on 9th May 2008.
13 – 18 April @ 7.30pm