Casting for Christopher Hampton's fresh take on Molière’s Tartuffe announced
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Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels
(Updated on Jan 31, 2019)
This fresh reimagining of Molière’s classic comedy has just announced two of its main cast members.
Renowned television star and film actor Paul Anderson is set to portray the titular character in Tartuffe at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, in which he will be making his West End stage debut. Anderson currently stars as Arthur Shelby in the popular Netflix and BBC drama, Peaky Blinders, and is also known for his lead roles in The Revenant, Legend, In the Heart of the Sea, and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The London actor will also be making an appearance as Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood (2018), which is produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Anderson will be joined by French actress Audrey Fleurot in the role of Elmire, Orgon's crazy wife, who makes an effort to avoid the deceitful charm of Tartuffe. Fleurot is known for her acting both on stage and on the big screen. She landed the lead role in the BAFTA-nominated, Parisian legal drama, Spiral, as Joséphine Karlsson. She also starred as Magalie in The Intouchables, an international smash hit that was nominated for over two dozen awards and won half of them.
Tartuffe is the first bilingual production to ever hit the West End and is a modern take on the 1664 play, placing the story in present-day Hollywood. Tartuffe is now portrayed as a radical evangelist that endeavours to overthrow the life of Orgon, a French film magnate who has a burning desire to become part of the L.A. elite. Orgon eventually becomes enraptured by Tartuffe's irresistible charm and Tartuffe appears ready to acquire Orgon's massive fortune, dispel his son, ensnare his wife, and betroth his daughter.
The venue for the Tartuffe, the Theatre Royal Haymarket, was coincidentally known as the "The New French Theatre" when it opened its doors in 1720. Hampton's Tartuffe will be a dual-language performance that alternates between English with French surtitles and vice versa in order to best reflect the unraveling plot.
Additional casting will be announced at a further date.
Be sure to book your tickets now for this limited run of Christopher Hampton's fresh take on Tartuffe, directed by Gerald Garutti. The show will be running from 25 May 2018 to 28 July 2018.
Buy your Tartuffe tickets here.