Living under a repressive regime himself, Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov used the persecution faced by actor and fellow playwright Molière as a vehicle to criticise the state of the arts in his own country under Stalin.
Almost three centuries earlier, the multi-talented Frenchman had incurred the wrath of the church with Tartuffe (a witty satire on religious hypocrisy) and, like Bulgakov, found his career in decline and his plays banned.
The star of the current production is undoubtedly Alex Marker’s design. It transforms the whole of the tiny space into a red-curtained, gilt-edged auditorium with a mock proscenium arch to frame the action as it moves from backstage at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal to the palace of the Sun King, to a dimly lit crypt and Moliere’s house.
But there are some good performances, too. Justin Avoth’s aging, short-tempered Molière, controversially rejecting his companion and former mistress to marry the woman he believes is her much, much younger sister, Paul Brendan’s long-suffering but loyal factotum, and Gyuri Sarossy’s deadpan Louis XIV whose waning patronage contributes to Molière’s decline.
There’s the frequent whiff of pantomime to leaven the seriousness of Molière’s situation – the overblown flourishes of a dastardly one-eyed musketeer contrast with dimly lit secret meetings overseen by the antagonistic Archbishop of Paris. And Michael Glenny’s decent translation forms a solid basis for Blanche McIntyre’s attractively realised production of Bulgakov’s once controversial, rarely revived work.
Finborough, Finborough Road, SW10 9ED. Earl’s Court Tube (0844 847 1652) Until 19th December £9 - £13
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