George Blagden, Sebastian Roché and Olivia Ross are among the latest actors to have joined the West End cast of Tartuffe, alongside the previously announced Paul Anderson and Audrey Fleurot. In the West End’s first ever dual-language production, Molière’s classic comedy re-imagines Tartuffe as a radical American evangelist who uproots the life of a French film tycoon in Hollywood.
Tartuffe will premiere for a limited ten-week West End run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from Friday 25th May 2018 (Press Night on Tuesday 29th May).
Sebastian Roché will make his West End stage debut as Orgon, a French media mogul living in Hollywood, who unwittingly becomes hoodwinked by Tartuffe. Sebastian’s screen credits include the HBO series Young Pope alongside Jude Law, Man In The High Castle (Amazon) and The Vampire Diaries (The CW).
L.A. Present day. French media tycoon Orgon has re-located to Tinsel town 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 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.
As befitting the Theatre Royal Haymarket, which was known to the play-going world as ‘The New French Theatre’ following it’s opening in 1720, this adaptation of Tartuffe will alternate between English with French surtitles and French with English surtitles to reflect the unfolding plot.
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.
