Adapter and Director: Darren Raymond
Darren Raymond sets out to rediscover Tartuffe in his new adaptation performed at the Marylebone Theatre, taking Molière’s French society comedy and relocating it to contemporary England, where a Nigerian and Jamaican heritage family are about to unite through marriage. Particularly focused on the sexual morality of the characters and their blindness in the face of performative religion, Raymond’s ‘remix’ proves an entertaining and occasionally touching farce in spite of, rather than due to, Mark Rylance’s overstated performance as the central character.
Agreeing to marry his daughter Adanna to her love Sinclair, Oga spends the seven days before the wedding convinced that the trusted but far older Pastor Blake would be a more suitable husband. Horrified by this turn of events, Oga’s family try to expose the fraudulent cleric, but he manages to outfox them all, only inveigling his way even further into the family home.
Tartuffe (Remixed) is largely a confident rethinking of Molière’s classic from the writer-director that grows in strength through its 2-hour and 45-minute running time. The first part is dedicated to Oga’s decision to claim a different son-in-law, nicely laying out the various family dynamics and interactions that shape a piece that becomes largely about grief: a man who lost his first wife and replaced his uncertainty and fear with religion. So, while Oga (Usifu Jalloh) is ridiculous and not obviously sympathetic, Raymond gives him a meaningful, if unresolved strand about a vulnerable man preyed on by a con artist which the conclusion could say more about.
There are also interesting, if inclusive, thoughts here about inter-generational perspectives on morality, Godliness and each other that deliver much of the comedy as differences in age and perspective, even vocabulary, clash frequently through the show – often the younger characters proving their worth and integrity by the end. The role of women – to be disbelieved, obedient and treated as property to be disposed of – also sloshes around in the script but though thin, Raymond creates women with agency including his second wife Elmire, his daughter Adanna and her friend Kemi, brilliantly played by a scene stealing Morenike Onajobi.
Parts of Tartuffe (Remixed) feel under-rehearsed, especially at the start as the company fumbles through the first few scenes, seeming unsure of the tone, but they soon pick up Raymond’s verse structure. The rhyming couplets work on the whole, although for some cast members the rhythm seems to drive them instead of the other way around. Where the play struggles most, however, is in the presentation of Pastor Blake, oddly played by Mark Rylance as a vicar from an Agatha Christie spoof with elaborate false teeth. The performance is so overt, his character’s actions so obvious, that the premise that he is a master manipulator lacks credibility. Rylance plays to the audience continually but seems to be in a different play to everyone else.
There are some really strong performances. Both Sara Mokonen as Adanna and Nakeba Buchanan as Elmire find depth and strength in their characters as they cut through the chaos in their home, while Suzette Llewellyn and Blanche Williams as the family elders pitch their more comic performances well. The Nigerian-Jamaican setting suits Molière nicely, and Raymond’s production will only grow in strength as the run continues.
Runs until 24 October 2026
