Mercury Players Society’s next production, Tartuffe is the most famous work by Molière,
the great 17th-century French satirist. Orgon’s family is up in arms because Orgon and
his mother have fallen under the influence of Tartuffe, a lecherous conman pretending to
be a pious spiritual adviser. Orgon and his mother no longer take any action without first
consulting him. Tartuffe’s antics do not fool the rest of the family or their friends; they
detest him. Orgon raises the stakes when he announces that Tartuffe will marry Orgon’s
daughter Mariane, who is already engaged to Valère. The plot becomes more and more
involved as it gallops to its surprising conclusion.
Deeper questions such as ‘What does it mean to be good?’ are carefully packaged into
a delightful farce with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, a charming and quirky love
story and some tense moments for the Orgon family. Will he see the light? And if he
does, will it be too late?
Written entirely in rhyming couplets, this version of the great classic comedy, in
translation by Ranjit Bolt, is performed by a cast of 12 directed by Rien Vesseur.
