Tartuffe (Remixed) – Marylebone Theatre

Last Updated on September 11, 2026

Mark Rylance stars in a farce for our times

4.0 out of 5.0 stars

When Molière’s farce Tartuffe was first performed for the King of France in 1664, it is thought that it met with royal approval, with King Louis XIV finding it amusing. Shortly afterwards, the play was banned after pressure was brought to bear on the king by the Dévots, a powerful religious faction of Catholics who wielded power in the first half of the 17^th century. They objected to the religious satirising in the  play, with the priest being a sinful conman who preached piety. I doubt there will be any objection to a new version of Tartuffe, written and directed by Darren Raymond, artistic director of Intermission Youth, whose members past and present perform in and are the creative team of this production, which opened at the Marylebone Theatre.

The action takes place in an African-Caribbean household during the preparations for the wedding between Adanna (Sara Mokonen) and Sinclair (Ivandro Da Cruz Leite). Sinclair’s Jamaican father, Delroy (Craig Blake) is a guest in the opulent house of the Afolabi-Williams family. Adanna’s father, Oga Afolabi (Usifu Jalloh), still grieves his late wife, Blossom, whose friend Elmire (Nakeba Buchanan) has married him and helped raise his children. Oga is very much the patriarch of the family, a Nigerian paterfamilias who demands obedience and who has fallen under the spell of Anglican vicar, Pastor Blake (Mark Rylance). His Jamaican mother-in-law, Grandma (Suzette Llewellyn), is similarly smitten by Pastor Blake; their devotion to their faith renders them vulnerable to the apparently saintly vicar.

Written in rhyming couplets, as was the original, I imagine that Molière would have appreciated the fast and snappy dialogue. Although as comedic as a farce should be, there are several serious issues raised. Scammers and conmen were as familiar to 17th-century France as they are in our contemporary times, and we are only too familiar with abuse perpetrated by religious people who present a pious face to the public. In Tartuffe (Remixed), it also takes on colonial overtones as Pastor Blake is the only white person in the play, like a corrupt missionary, taking advantage of – literally stealing the resources of Oga and his family. Oga’s son, D-Miz (Christopher Mbaki), is a rap artist and makes an impassioned speech about how creative resources continue to be exploited.

There are also issues relating to traditional family structures and the tension within families about how to honour a parent while still retaining the right to make individual choices – especially difficult for the women in this household. As Oga begins to make a series of terrible decisions that will affect his daughter’s life, Adanna feels as powerless to defend her choice of husband as her fiancé is to fight for his right to marry her against Oga’s wishes. While the humour lies in Oga’s blindness towards the cunning plot of Pastor Blake, it also raises the question of how those in positions of power rule and ruin the lives of those they consider submissive. There is one wonderful character who refuses to be cowed by Oga – Adanna’s best friend, Kemi (Morenike Onajobi) is one of the highlights of this production, outspoken, brave and very funny.

The cast all put in energetic performances, with standout performances by Jalloh as Oga, Buchanan as his wife Elmire, Llewllyn as Grandma, and Onajobi as Kemi. Mark Rylance is the major drawcard in this production, and he is very entertaining as the ingratiating vicar whose true colours begin to be revealed, especially in the second half of the play. He is almost unrecognisable beneath his hideous set of teeth.

While Tartuffe (Remixed) was a high-energy performance, running at two and a half hours with an interval, there were points that I thought could have been trimmed.

With Ultz as the designer, and Maybelle Lye as associate costume designer of Tartuffe (Remixed), the costumes were excellent. Following the Nigerian tradition of the bride and groom’s families having colour-coordinated outfits, the final scene in particular looked like it might have come off a catwalk. Many of the wedding clothes designed by Shola Ajayi contained intricate embroidery, some made in Nigeria.

While Rylance is the big name on the ticket, Intermission Youth is close to his heart, being a theatre school for young people, many of whom go on to study at drama schools and launch acting careers. This production sees the professional debut of two of the actors from the group. Darren Raymond has written 15 adaptations of Shakespeare, and this is his first foray into Molière. As he commented after curtain call, when he was called to the stage, it is good to see such a diverse audience, enjoying what theatre should be – entertaining and provoking.

Tartuffe (Remixed) runs at Marylebone Theatre from September to 24 October

Marylebone Theatre,
Rudolf Steiner House,
35 Park Road,
London NW1 6XT

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