Tartuffe - Theatre Royal Haymarket

[Deleted]

May 26, 2018 12:25:55 GMT Marwood said:

Maybe she should think of her child/filming commitments before agreeing to a run in the theatre abroad?Just saying...

But she did. She agreed certain days off in advance during the run.

[Marwood]

Interval time - a LOT of French to take in, and no explanation why characters switch between French and English. Surtitles are at either side of the stage and right at the top, so don’t sit in the front two rows unless you’re fluent in French.

Audrey Fleurot is indeed loveliness personified (and the maid is rather lovely too), Paul Anderson quite good so far, although he doesn’t get to speak until 40 minutes or so into proceedings. Not exactly comedy gold so far, but at least I’m not tempted to do a Parsley and bail (its two and a half hours long)

[ATK]

I saw the performance last night. The French characters speak French to each other, and English with the American characters. My own French is very basic, but they seem to be using Moliere’s French text in rhyming couplets but translating it into English surtitles using Hampton’s idiosyncratic prose. The French actors speak very quickly and Hampton uses more words than Moliere did, so it is quite hard to follow because there is a disconnect between what the two languages are doing. The acting is animated and fun to watch but unless you are bilingual you will have to choose between reading the quickly changing surtitles and watching the performances when they are speaking in the language you don’t know.

I loved whatever of Hampton’s text I managed to read — although there is a version of the final scene I won’t spoil that may not be to everyone’s taste.

[Marwood]

I thought it was OK rather than anything special - I wasn’t as enamoured with the ending as the chuckling hordes sat behind me. First time I’ve seen a production of this so I’m not sure what shoe horning mentions of Amyl Nitrate, bikinis and Twitter into proceedings brought to the table either.

[Snciole]

Sorry to be that person but how long is it running at the moment?

[Deleted]

Gosh. This sounds a bit like hard work does it not?

[Marwood]

May 26, 2018 17:27:02 GMT Snciole said:

Sorry to be that person but how long is it running at the moment?

It was 2 hours 20 minutes today, but it’s still in previews so might come down.

[Deleted]

May 26, 2018 18:44:37 GMT Marwood said:

May 26, 2018 17:27:02 GMT Snciole said:

Sorry to be that person but how long is it running at the moment?

It was 2 hours 50 minutes today, but it’s still in previews so might come down.

Oh a come down during a preview is the *worst*.

[nash16]

Well, it would be wrong to say we were disappointed with this as we didn't go in expecting anything too special in the first place.

It was, as ever, interesting to read the flyer/note the way it's being sold after watching it, as, like Consent, it just doesn't match what is on the stage.

The French/English works quite well, to a point. As others have said, make sure you've got a good view of the surtitles (above the stage at the front, and to the sides of Stalls and upper circle) as when it's the French turn they speak VERY fast.

English words are dribbled in before the English speakers roles start to showcase themselves a bit more.

The French win, on all levels in this production.

Acting and writing.

The French lines are nearly all in rhyming couplets and it's lovely to hear these, even if we were constantly looking at the translations.

Hampton hasn't achieved or even bothered to do the same with the English/American lines, which are all prose and lack any real poetry.

Claude Perron as Dorine is the only one who seems to have the tone (a mix of broad comedy and biting rage) that Moliere seemed to have intended. She's really great. But around her...

Also, there is a big weakness at the heart of this production, language aside, and that is the British actors, most especially Paul Anderson* in the title role.

Playing him as a hippy guru, Anderson was just annoying and somehow (and we still haven't worked out how) he managed to deflate any sense of comedy or drama from the 40mins prior to his entrance onstage. (Not that there was much of that if we're honest. A lot of it is so light, and just bickering.) He is the black hole of the production.

Was it the direction? Was it Paul himself? Was it the complete lack of chemistry/electricity/drama between Anderson & Audrey Fleurot (weak)?

Whatever, that first scene between them was just dull dull dull & sounded the death knoll for this production It never really picked up after that.

The younger actors played it like a high school play.

And the chortling from the audience as mentioned by others was just that. And quite forced at times.

The L.A. setting is mentioned in the flyer but given no heed or point in the actual production.

In fact, the more we thought about it, the more of a sort of numbing-mess we felt it was.

Oh, and there's a "party" with "movement" that Rufus Norris would be proud of at the very start of it all. Note how the performers never engage with each other.

They never really engage their audience either.

Don't race to it.

* Having slated Paul Anderson, we had to admit he is credited for the Lighting and in this arena he is much better. He should probably stick to that side of the theatre profession.

[nash16]

To quote from said flyer, this is meant to be:

"A thrilling new adaptation"

..........

[Rory]

Hmm, what's on between this and The Band I wonder? Hopefully something decent.

[nash16]

May 26, 2018 23:51:39 GMT Rory said:

Hmm, what's on between this and The Band I wonder? Hopefully something decent.

A Period of Mourning is due to go in there.

[Rory]

May 26, 2018 23:57:27 GMT nash16 said:

May 26, 2018 23:51:39 GMT Rory said:

Hmm, what's on between this and The Band I wonder? Hopefully something decent.

A Period of Mourning is due to go in there.

Is that the name of a show or your feelings about the theatre and its offerings?!!😉

[Rory]

In all seriousness, is there a show called A Period of Mourning? !!

[Marwood]

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Paul Anderson s performance in this it’s just that after seeing him in Peaky Blinders, he seems to be far too reined in playing Tartuffe-it needs someone to really go for it, a performance along the lines of Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs Of America that really goes at it hammer and tongs and dominates the play. As it is, I wasn’t really convinced why anyone would want to give Tartuffe everything.

[Steve]

I think Nash is referring to the fact that "A Period of Mourning" is in rep with every production that goes in the Haymarket.

I thought Tartuffe was just ok. The funny French lines were too much for me to understand without the surtitles, and the dull English lines just weren't funny. So I didn't laugh much.

The one actor who brought something genuinely hilarious to the table was Sebastian Roche, as the foolish follower of Tartuffe. His gormless enthusiasm for this conman was a delightful irrepressible exaggerated explosion of life, within a production that too often played this comedy safe and sanitised.

By contrast, Marcus Gardley's version of Tarfuffe, "A Wolf in Snakeskin Shoes," that played the Tricycle Theatre not so long ago, was unrestrained belly laugh hilarity from start to finish. Lucian Msmati's Reverend Toof was an OTT marvel of physical comedy. Sadly, through no fault of his own, Paul Anderson's Tartuffe is fashioned and directed in too restrained a fashion, that I suspect emanates directly from Christopher Hampton's refined and stiff translation.

3 stars, for Sebastian Roche, showing them how it's done.

[Marwood]

May 28, 2018 21:36:47 GMT Marwood said:

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Paul Anderson s performance in this it’s just that after seeing him in Peaky Blinders, he seems to be far too reined in playing Tartuffe-it needs someone to really go for it, a performance along the lines of Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs Of America that really goes at it hammer and tongs and dominates the play. As it is, I wasn’t really convinced why anyone would want to give Tartuffe everything.

My bad, that should of course be Gangs of New York, silly me...

[dani]

The reviews for this are terrible. 2* in the Guardian, Time Out, ES, The Stage, and 1* in the Times. The ES review concludes 'In a programme note Garutti says "we hope our production has retained this masterpiece’s original deflagrating power". After a brief reunion with my dictionary, I can say that there’s not much deflagrating here. Instead of bursting into flame and burning away rapidly, this is a Tartuffe that flickers with promise", and the much more damning Times one concludes 'This is such spectacularly bad theatre that it had me praying — please, please, just make it stop.'

[Rory]

Unfortunately I had a feeling all along it would be reviewed like this. I hope for the Haymarket's sake they can get something good in there in August. I wonder what is happening as regards the sale?

[nash16]

May 30, 2018 11:55:31 GMT dani said:

The reviews for this are terrible. 2* in the Guardian, Time Out, ES, The Stage, and 1* in the Times. The ES review concludes 'In a programme note Garutti says "we hope our production has retained this masterpiece’s original deflagrating power". After a brief reunion with my dictionary, I can say that there’s not much deflagrating here. Instead of bursting into flame and burning away rapidly, this is a Tartuffe that flickers with promise", and the much more damning Times one concludes 'This is such spectacularly bad theatre that it had me praying — please, please, just make it stop.'

Yep. Such a shame it isn't a better production. It'll put more people off theatre now...

[Rory]

May 30, 2018 15:05:59 GMT @theatremonkey said:

May 30, 2018 12:28:04 GMT Rory said:

I wonder what is happening as regards the sale?

Last I read a month ago, the Russian oligarch who produced the Russian Season last month is in exclusive negotiations to buy it.

I don't think this would necessarily be good news. It needs someone or a company with real experience and vision. I was hoping one of the usual suspects would get it.

[Rory]

Well, we'll keep an open mind and cross our fingers!

[TallPaul]

If we're thinking of the same person he is, according to The Sunday Times, the 3rd richest person in the country, with a net worth 15 times that of Cam Mack.

He also owns Warner Music, so knows a little about showbiz!

[stefy69]

Really bad review for this in this morning's Times, struggled to get one star.

[Rory]

And that review was by Sam Marlowe, not pendulum swing Treneman.