The scene is set with matriarch Madame Pernelle (Cameron Rhodes as a kind of upper-class Marjorie Dawes), storming through the shagpile-carpeted backyard swimming pool area of the opulent, well-appointed household presided over by Orgon, a bullish, uncouth bigot (also Rhodes).
As Madame expresses her demands to her in-laws, grandchildren and hired help, her plot-establishing tirade is upstaged somewhat by the unhygienic behaviour of her large black poodle – heralding a plethora of such visual distractions to come.
The plot is simple enough as a framework in which to illustrate the convoluted contradictions of human nature through the time-honoured theatrical instrument of satirical farce: Orgon is a tyrant to all but his mother and his esteemed houseguest, the charismatic and prosperous Christian evangelist Tartuffe, to whom he is desperately obsequious. His insistence on creating a diplomatic bond between them via the marital union of Tartuffe and his only daughter is slightly hampered by the rest of the family's patent mistrust of Tartuffe's patronising and disingenuous manner.
Orgon's larger-than-life brood comprises: a beloved wife, image-obsessed neurotic though surprisingly astute Elmire (Theresa Healey); Elmire's spirituality-obsessed effeminate brother Cleante (Edwin Wright); spoilt, idealistic romance-obsessed daughter Mariane (Sophie Henderson); and his son and sole heir Damis (Tim Carlsen), a volatile, combat-obsessed angry young man.
Read the full review here.
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