«Tartuffe» is one of Molière’s most popular comedies. It was written in 1664 and, in a vivid manner, denounces hypocrisy, flattery, and deceit. Its main character, Tartuffe, is a complete rogue, a seducer, a spy, and an informer. He commits «his vile deeds,» yet he constantly quotes the Holy Scriptures.
Many outstanding productions have been staged based on this play, including Anatoly Efros’s «Tartuffe,» starring Stanislav Lyubshin, Alexander Kalyagin, and Anastasia Vertinskaya; its premiere took place in 1981 on the stage of the branch of the Moscow Art Theatre named after M. Gorky, whose building is now occupied by the Theatre of Nations. That production was staged in a traditional, theatrical manner. In the new production, director Evgeny Pisarev decided to take a different approach — he suggests looking at the classic comedic plot as a real story. For his version of «Tartuffe,» Pisarev uses a new translation — with a sharp, ironic tone and wordplay. The action is set in present‑day France, in the mansion of a large, but not very pleasant, bourgeois family. According to Pisarev, Tartuffe is not a «double‑dealing scoundrel,» but a cynic for whom piety and moralizing are a weapon with which he wants to take everything from Orgon: his home, his family, his money…
