TARTUFFE. To 14 June.

Kingston-upon-Thames.

TARTUFFE
by Moliere new adaptation by Roger McGough.

Rose Theatre Kingston To 14 June 2008.
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat Thu & Sat 2.30pm.
Captioned 14 June 2.30pm.
Runs 2hr 35min One interval.

TICKETS: 0871 230 1552.
www.rosetheatrekingston.org
Review: Timothy Ramsden 5 June.

Bravura brilliance throughout.
Seeing the magnificent curved wall onstage, it might easily be assumed Ruari Murchison had designed this revival of Moliere’s savage comedy of religious hypocrisy with the open stage and auditorium of the Rose as its sole home.

Yet it comes to Kingston from Liverpool Playhouse, with its traditional picture-frame stage. And the glistening affluence of Orgon’s room is matched by the verbal brilliance of Liverpool poet Roger McGough’s English version, which spirals, circles and shoots linguistic pyrotechnics in fast formation.

“You’re a disappointment/A fly-by-night in the ointment” grandmother Pernelle is already telling a family member in the opening minutes. Moliere’s rhymes repeatedly surprise in McGough’s varied-length couplets, testing the limits of likelihood, from the very early “oasis” and “this place is” on, though it’s McGough’s rhyme for “interloper” that fetched the first outburst of laughter and applause.

Hardly ever pushed into unnatural word order to gain effects, this version plays around with the idea of translation, its occasional 'English' insertions being given in mangled form and bad French accents, while pronunciation of Tartuffe’s name is a repeated cause for comic controversy.

But McGough also propels the story forward, allowing Moliere’s savagery to emerge. Liverpool’s artistic director Gemma Bodinetz builds a sense of order under threat as self-advancing religious fanatic Tartuffe worms his way into Orgon’s house, secrets and possessions. Orgon and Pernelle apart, everyone sees through him. Including the audience.

John Ramm, inspiringly cast as the hypocrite, ensures that. Mixing lightness and the ponderous, in a way familiar from his National Theatre of Brent days, Ramm’s tall figure dominates the room. In a reversal of normal visual signals, the colourful family costumes represent a normality menaced by Tartuffe’s black garb, a fashion followed only by his supporters in the family, and his own servant as he lowers behind closed doors. Meeting criticisms with bland piety, Ramm then offers gloating or lustful expressions when backs are turned, his tongue snaking lecherously outward, his eventual half-nakedness exposing a ludicrously underclothed figure.

McGough’s verse brings out the best in the cast, and Bodinetz’s inventive direction ensures this is highly delightful, very memorable Moliere.

Orgon: Joseph Alessi.
Madame Pernelle: Eithne Browne.
Cleante: Simon Coates.
Dorine: Annabelle Dowler.
Valere: Kevin Harvey.
Damis: Robert Hastie.
Elmire: Rebecca Lacey.
Marianne: Emily Pithon.
Tartuffe: John Ramm.
Loyal/Officer: Alan Stocks.

Director: Gemma Bodinetz.
Designer: Ruari Murchison.
Lighting: Paul Keogan.
Sound: Fergus O’Hare.
Composer: Conor Linehan.
Movement: Bernadette Iglich.

2008-06-10 13:58:55