Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Review - Tartuffe: 'It's well-written, intelligent, funny and fast moving'

by ROSHAN DOUG

THE Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) Tartuffe centres on the household of Imran and Amira Pervez (played by Simon Nagra and Sasha Behar, respectively).


The classic is recontextualised to make the ideas topical and more relevant to the concerns of Britain's post-Brexit, 21st-century multiculturalism. Hence, instead of the Parisian Catholicism of Louis XIV’s reign, we’re given a Muslim family of Pakistani heritage negotiating their cultural identity through their relationship with self-appointed Islamic leaders like Tartuffe (played by Asif Khan) who purport to know what Allah wants and whose interpretation of specific texts in the Quran is relative dependent on situation and audience.

We learn that Imran has put the local imam (Tartuffe) on a pedestal and goes along with whatever he says about being a good Muslim. He even wants his daughter, Mariam (Zainab Hasan) married to this man of the mosque, who is charismatic, opportunistic and manipulative.

Imran also ignores his son, Damee (Raj Bajaj) and his English streetwise lifestyle, which he regards as un-Islamic. At the same time, Imran undermines his wife and friends, blindly following the advice of self-serving imams like Tartuffe.

There were some excellent performances from many cast members. Asif Khan in the title role was comedic, sending up the imam with his blatant disregard for social civility, truth and honesty. His character's seedy mannerisms and indefinable accent that came with a hint of middle-eastern influence will echo in my head for a while.

Nagra and Behar also gave strong, solid performances and their comic timing was faultless. Michelle Bonnard in the role of Darina, the Bosnian cleaner, gave an enchanting performance and Bajaj was energetic and vibrant as the wayward son.

This adaptation of Molière’s 17th-century satire seems like a cross between Goodness Gracious Me and Citizen Khan – though that is no coincidence since both writers (Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto) have worked on these television shows.

The Birmingham setting and the accent are familiar. But, it's the reworking that appealed most to me – its littering of popular cultural references, the pace and delivery. It’s well written, intelligent, funny and fast moving. I got wrapped up in the production that mocks cultural attitudes and expectations and religious hypocrisy - the latter perhaps more relevant today than ever before. The stuff about the politics of wearing the hijab was particularly pertinent and amusing.

But, bearing in mind that some of Molière’s critics deemed the original play as offensive and argued for its ban, I was a tad surprised that there’s been no fuss about this adaptation – not because I personally think it’s offensive or even controversial – but because, there were moments in the play when I thought, ‘That’s a bit risqué’. For instance, the idea of an imam touching a woman’s breasts or eagerly standing over her on a sofa with his Y-front pants was rather suggestive, not to mention the use of colourful language such as ‘t***’.

However, although, to the untutored audience, such instances might seem out of place at the one-time very austere RSC, they were in line with the current push to make the RSC less elitist and more egalitarian. To a large extent, that’s working because the RSC is making a concerted effort to be inclusive and to engage with a wide diverse group of people through their numerous writing schemes, education and schools' programmes and community projects.

Having said that, I was a little disappointed not to see more Asian members in the audience on Tuesday (18, the press night). It seemed that there was only a handful and even one or two of them were media enthusiasts like Satnam Rana from BBC’s Midlands Today. But I was heartened to see the valiant attempt being made by the RSC. That’s got to be encouraged and applauded.

So well done to everyone concerned.

Tartuffe is on at the Swan Theatre at Stratford-Upon-Avon until February 23, 2019

More For You

Rachel Zegler’s ‘Evita’ Performance Sparks Broadway Buzz

Rachel Zegler stuns in Jamie Lloyd’s Evita as Palladium crowds grow nightly

Instagram/officialevita

Rachel Zegler shines in Jamie Lloyd’s ‘Evita’ as West End hit eyes Broadway transfer

Quick highlights:

  • Rachel Zegler plays Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s radical Evita revival at the London Palladium.
  • A viral moment features Zegler singing live from the theatre’s balcony to crowds on the street.
  • Lloyd’s stripped-down staging amps up visuals and sound but sacrifices storytelling depth.
  • Talks are on for a Broadway transfer as early as 2026 with Zegler confirmed to reprise her role.

Rachel Zegler commands the London stage as Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s daring reimagining of Evita, a production that trades subtlety for spectacle and could soon be heading to Broadway.

Following the success of Sunset Boulevard, Lloyd’s signature stripped-down style meets rock concert intensity in this revived version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical. Zegler, in only her second major stage role, dazzles with commanding vocals and presence, even as critics debate the show’s dramatic clarity.

Keep ReadingShow less
K Anis Ahmed

K Anis Ahmed’s new novel Carnivore is as imaginative as it is provocative

AMG

K Anis Ahmed’s 'Carnivore' serves up satire, class war and moral rot

From the blood-soaked backstreets of Dhaka to the polished kitchens of Manhattan’s elite, K Anis Ahmed’s new novel Carnivore is as imaginative as it is provocative. A satirical thriller steeped in class tension, culinary obsession and primal survival, Carnivore follows Kash, a Bangladeshi immigrant-turned-chef who launches a high-end restaurant serving exotic meats – only to become embroiled in a sinister world of appetite and ambition.

But this is no simple tale of knives and recipes. Ahmed – a seasoned journalist, publisher, and president of PEN Bangladesh – brings a sharp eye to the grotesqueries of power and privilege. In this exclusive interview with Eastern Eye, he speaks about his passion for food, the moral murkiness of his characters, and why even the most ordinary people can spiral into extraordinary darkness.

Keep ReadingShow less
Artists respond to a world shaped
by division at Summer Exhibition

Visitors view works in the main gallery

Artists respond to a world shaped by division at Summer Exhibition

THE theme of the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition 2025 is “dialogues”, prompting the question: can art help bring together the people of India and Pakistan? Or, indeed, Israel and Iran – or Israel and Palestine?

It so happens that the coordinator of this year’s Summer Exhibition is the internationally celebrated artist and Royal Academician Farshid Moussavi, who is of Iranian origin.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kanpur 1857 play

This summer, Niall Moorjani returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with 'Kanpur: 1857'

Pleasance

Niall Moorjani brings colonial history to life with powerful new play 'Kanpur: 1857'

This summer, Niall Moorjani returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Kanpur: 1857, an explosive new play that fuses biting satire, history and heartfelt storytelling. Written, co-directed and performed by Moorjani, alongside fellow actor and collaborator Jonathan Oldfield, the show dives into the bloody uprising against British colonial rule in 1857 India, focusing on the brutal events in Kanpur.

At its centre is an Indian rebel, played by Moorjani, strapped to a cannon and forced to recount a version of events under the watchful eye of a British officer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lubna Kerr Lunchbox

Scottish-Pakistani theatre-maker Lubna Kerr returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with 'Lunchbox'

Instagram/ lubnakerr

Beyond curries and cricket: Lubna Kerr’s 'Lunchbox' challenges stereotypes at Edinburgh Fringe

Acclaimed Scottish-Pakistani theatre-maker Lubna Kerr returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with Lunchbox – the final instalment of her deeply personal and widely praised ‘BOX’ trilogy, following Tickbox and Chatterbox.

Inspired by her own upbringing as a Pakistani immigrant girl in Glasgow, Lunchbox is a powerful one-woman show that tackles themes of identity, race, bullying and belonging through the eyes of two teenagers growing up on the same street but living vastly different lives. With humour, honesty and heart, Kerr brings multiple characters to life, including her younger self and a troubled classmate, as she explores whether we are shaped by our environment or capable of breaking the cycle.

Keep ReadingShow less