Tartuffe revisited by the Théâtre des Calanques in Marseille

“Le Tartuffe” by Molière: from Thursday November 21 to Saturday November 23, 2024 at 8:30 p.m., Théâtre des Calanques, Pastré countryside, Marseille (8th). Director: Serge Noyelle. Dramaturgy: Marion Coutris. theatredescalanques.com

“Le Tartuffe is probably Molière’s best-known play, and also the most controversial, as the novel of its creation took the form of an affair of state between 1664 and 1669. This is because one does not touch with impunity the criticism of a religion that between King Louis his play – certainly reworked – which immediately became the success it was known to be, and will not weaken. Since then, it has continued to precede current events: the surname of its main character also becoming the name of all the hypocrites. shrouded in unjustified moral glory, worldly impostors, cynical fundamentalists”, explains Marion Coutris in the preamble.

The playwright and actress continues: “The play is a sharp description of the confusion of morals of a French society which already anticipates the changes to come. But Molière’s play is not a caricature, that is its strength The characters are all nourished by paradoxical movements. Life and its multiple representations are for Molière a more fundamental issue than the denunciation of a system. It does not produce dogmas but theatrical machines, complex and subtle. Contradictory at times. Leaving the spectator the capacity to judge, to laugh or to be moved too.

Then several questions arise about the characters: “Thus, does Elmire agree to tempt Tartuffe out of pure strategy, or out of a taste for a latent and revealed game of seduction? Marianne, made into a statue by the will of a father, s Is locked in inertia, too proud to admit himself a victim, or just a little too cowardly to confront the patriarchal order, does Tartuffe nourish Elmire, beyond his own? stratagems, a sincere and intrepid passion or is he behaving like a predator certain of his privileges? Is Madame Cléante a dupe or a cynic? Is it the rational mind of Molière or the author’s admitted incapacity to resist the onslaught of censorship? His own romantic inclinations?

“The Tartuffe is a disco ball which first reveals the perspectives of those who look at it, and this is why the play is undoubtedly one of the first works of modern theater,” concludes Marion Coutris.

“Le Tartuffe” at the Théâtre des Calanques (duration 2 hours). Created in China in December 2023 (Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu), the play was presented in France in January 2024: it is performed at the Théâtre des Calanques in November 2024.

Director: Serge Noyelle. Scenography: Serge Noyelle & Marion Coutris. Dramaturgy: Marion Coutris. With: Louison Bergman (Marianne), Lucas Bonetti (Tartuffe), Marion Coutris (Madame Pernelle), Nino Djerbir (Orgon), Thibaut Kuttler (Monsieur Loyal), Robin Mannella (Valère), Jeanne Noyelle (Dorine), Camille Noyelle (Elmire ), Romain Noury ​​(Damis), Guilhem Saly (Cléante). Production Director: Benoît Kasolter. Technical direction: Bernard Faradji. General manager: Louna Boissaye. Lighting manager: Richard Psourseff.