Satirical classic served with a dash of aplomb

Moliere wrote Tartuffe more than 350 years ago and it’s incredible how fresh and relevant it appears today. Then again, greed, gullibility and hypocrisy are not new.

Strike takes the tale of a estate-owner Orgon, whose wealth and family are the target of Tartuffe’s machinations, and sets it in the decadent 1930s.

What follows is a richly visual production with the set, costumes and lighting all adding to a hot-house atmosphere which gradually suffocates a family because of the sneaky tendrils of deceit sent out by Tartuffe.

He even manages to kill the house plants . . . that’s how toxic his presence is.

It is hard to single out stars in an all-round amazing ensemble performance like this but Neil McCarthy as the priggish and totally duped Orgon is a standout.

His physical moves alone are hilarious and, as his sister Cleante (Camilla Waldman) notes, he is “dreadfully deluded”.

Vanessa Cooke also makes a meal out of her part as Dorine, the clever maid who tries to fix up the family’s messes.

Craig Morris is a sinister Tartuffe, although he is physically a little lean for a character the script suggests should be a corpulent priest, with avaricious snout in a trough.

Strike also asks him to play Orgon’s preachy mother Madame Pernelle in a neat piece of casting.

The well-rehearsed cast convey Moliere’s wit in rhyme with vivid theatrical aplomb, making it so clear to the audience – if not Orgon – who is to be believed and who not.

However, the insidious effects of corruption are not that easy to avoid and the whole family suffers.

It’s not a leap to extend that metaphor from the stage to South Africa right now, where a thirst for money and power blights everything it touches.

It’s a beautifully presented piece of theatre which must have cost quite a whack to stage. Don’t miss the final performances today. — Gillian McAinsh