Aidan Theatre is preparing to trade truth for trickery this Halloween as they get ready to stage Moliere’s classic comedy Tartuffe.
The notorious satire was first performed in 1664 and was initially deemed so provocative and scandalous that it was banned in France for nearly six years at the request of Catholic officials — who believed the play was not just a commentary on hypocrisy but an attack on genuine faith.
The play centres around a wealthy man named Orgon, who becomes blindly devoted to Tartuffe, a hypocritical impostor pretending to be a deeply religious man.
Using his pious facade, Tartuffe attempts to manipulate Orgon — hoping to gain control of his wealth, bed his wife and even marry his daughter — all while Orgon’s family attempt to expose the plot.
Director Kimble Henderson said Tartuffe had always been a bucket list play to stage.
‘‘I just fell in love with the whole bourgeoisie, hypocrisy kind of theme as well as just the physical comedy of it.
‘‘It’s not a well-known play in New Zealand — maybe at universities, which is where I was introduced to it — but there is something really fun about taking on this real classic because Moliere is the equivalent of Shakespeare to the French.
‘‘We’ve had so much fun exploring the French culture, societal things, the bourgeoisie, French accents and then what is that with a Kiwi twist?’’
She said the play featured a lot of themes and messages that were still very relevant today.
‘‘I just constantly giggled to myself while I was adapting it. It’s really interesting and fun discovering some of the same things.
Mrs Henderson likened the play to a family sitcom.
‘‘It’s about a family who all get on. They’re all very quirky characters in this family and once the father, Orgon, is smitten by this con-man, they try some extreme measures to show Orgon how wrong he’s got it.
‘‘While it’s really quite funny, there is an underlying truth, I think, about the state of humanity at the moment.’’
Audiences could expect a very physical and very funny performance, she said.
‘‘We’re trying to push ourselves a little bit as a theatre company and trying to look a little bit at different styles, like the commedia dell’arte physicality of stock characters.
‘‘It also fits in with the idea around social manners, social etiquette and that generation gap with the younger ones wanting to be like the older ones but wanting to do things their own way.
‘‘We’ve got a great team, the costumes are fabulous and we’re once again trying to present a bit of a hybrid.
‘‘It’s a beautiful mix of a little bit of Kiwi, a little bit of French and a little bit of imagination.’’
The bourgeoisie themes were even being carried through to the ticketing.
‘‘It’s created some interesting comments because we are doing tiered ticketing.
‘‘Being part of the bourgeoisie, trying to attain a certain amount of money and stuff is actually also quite prevalent today in how we do it and so the ticketing kind of is trying to represent the world a little.
‘‘We have very limited VIP+ tickets — they will be spoiled and have a servant look after them — then there are VIP tickets who will also be spoiled but not have a servant.
‘‘Then there’s the general admission and also a limited number of $25 tickets for people who really want to come along and enjoy the show.
‘‘Everybody is getting the same show and will be part of this world and experience but it’s a good reflection on society.’’
Tartuffe will open at the Scottish Hall in Barnard St on October 30 and run until November 2.
Night shows will begin at 7pm and 2pm matinees will be held on November 1 and 2.
Tickets can be bought from the Humanitix website and limited door sales will be available.
