Molière’s 17th century farce, Tartuffe, receives a 21st century update in this ‘remix’ by Darren Raymond, now running at the Marylebone Theatre.
Mark Rylance is the star of this one, playing one ‘Pastor Blake’, Raymond’s approximation of Tartuffe and the only white actor in the cast.
His character is deliberately grotesque, with buck teeth, grubby attire, and exaggerated facial expressions. How such a man can con a family into treating him as ‘holy’ beggars belief.
He’s welcomed into the house of Oga (Usifu Jalloh) and Elmire (Nekeba Buchanan), where the wedding of Oga’s daughter Adanna (Sara Mokonen) to Sinclair (Ivandro Da Cruz Leite) is about to take place. This is a Nigerian/Jamaican family, rooted in faith and tradition.
Although our world today is far removed from Molière’s, some themes still resonate: family dynamics, young love, influencers and fraudsters, the patriarchy, and pride.
Several of the cast have come through Intermission Youth, an initiative to mentor, support and train young people facing social and economic barriers.
All the cast have been involved with the project in some way – Rylance is Intermission’s patron and trustee – offering a true family atmosphere to proceedings. A celebration of what the community stands for.
The older generations offer the most amusement – Blanche Williams as ‘Gigi’, the great-grandma, and Suzette Llewellyn as Grandma – while Christopher Mbaki’s D-Miz, the neglected son, offers a sense of poignancy to a tricky role.
Family friend Kemi (Morenike Onajobi) is observer, commenter, and reactor as the story progresses – while Delroy, Sinclair’s dad (Craig Blake) is more cautious and cynical.
It’s fair to say the first half takes a while to warm up, to get used to the verse speaking mixed with patois, and to tune into the way the story unfolds. The set, designed by ULTZ, is more corporate than cosy, but allows for observance, argument, and a particularly uncomfortable seduction scene in which Rylance channels his inner dirty vicar in true Dick Emery style.
Those rhyming couplets are sometimes a little forced, making finding a word to match more important than moving along the plot, but some quirky choices really add to the comedy. Some actors are clearly more comfortable with the conceit than others.
Having the Tartuffe character played by a white man within a black world adds a sense of Colonialism and white saviour complex to an already complicated situation. It isn’t fully explored, but is certainly there.
But it is within the satire and farce inherited from the original Tartuffe that this production shines; it knows when to be ridiculous, when to be warm, and when to lean into this historical context for its Caribbean-British setting and themes.
The costumes are also impressive, with traditional fabrics and emblems – the wedding clothes by Shola Ajayi are particularly fine. I also liked the revised ending(s) as the evening came to an end.
Tartuffe (Remixed) is an intriguing experiment allowing an established star name to support a cast including four (Da Cruz Leite, Mbaki, Mokonen and Onajobi) from the Intermission Youth Theatre cohort.
Each night, two ensemble members taken from recent graduates of the programme join in the company. It offers a collegiate atmosphere and stage time for these new entrants to the profession.
A riotous night out is to be had here, whether you know the original text or not. If you do, much of the plot and characters have survived the transition, and the abhorrent Pastor Blake becomes one of comedy’s most hideous creations.
3.5 stars.
Tartuffe (Remixed) continues at Marylebone Theatre until 24 Oct.
Photo credit: Mark Senior