Tartuffe

At the website of Rogaland Theatre the following, among other things, is written about Tartuffe:

"Tartuffe is the comedy about the lightly hysterical Orgon, his young and a little bit too intelligent wife Elmire, his more than ready to marry, naïve daughter Mariane and her eccentric fiancé Cléante, his choleric and singing mother Madame Perneille, and the family's apparently transgender maid Doirine. To this typical French family of the 17th century, the religious extremist and hypocrite Tartuffe comes to create hysteria, chaos and terror.

The comedy was written in a time when France experienced a cultural war between secular values, represented by the royals, and the strict moral learnings of the Catholic Church. Molière sees himself as an advocate for liberal, secular values, an in his play he shows how religion can be abused to gain unimpeded power over innocent people.

We now live in an age and a culture where religion is part of the individual's private perspectives on life. However, and particularly in the growth of political Islam, we see that religion can, to the highest degree, be used as a cynical instrument for power also now. Both Christianity and Islam base their power and fascination on the fear of hell and the wish for paradise. This religious fanaticism is what Molière describes so clearly in his comedy, and what Rolf Alme is to examine in his production.

Inspired by animation movies and slapstick comedy, plus with partial influences from Little Britain and Monty Python, audiences can look forward to a retro-smart comedy from 1669."

SOURCE:

Rogaland Theatre, 11.12.2017, rogaland-teater.no, http://www.rogaland-teater.no/program/tartuffe