Tartuffe
Relaxed Performance – Sensory Guide
Tuesday 8th April at 7pm
The Carne Studio Theatre, LAMDA
Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, including a 15 minute interval
Content warnings: Contains police brutality, the threat of domestic violence and minor references to suicide methods. Use of explicit language throughout and blood.
Relaxed Performances at LAMDA
• You are welcome to leave and re-enter from the theatre as you need.
• There is a break-out room available called The Rittner Room.
• House lighting is on low throughout, never going to full black-out.
• Loud noises are reduced.
• No strobe lighting is used.
• You are welcome to react to the show however you want.
• At the end of this document is a show synopsis and sensory guide.
Arriving at LAMDA
When you arrive at LAMDA, the box office is to your right. You should get your QR code ticket ready to be scanned by a LAMDA member of staff.
Toilets are located right next to box office.
LAMDA staff will be wearing LAMDA branded T-Shirts or lanyards.
If you need any assistance whilst in the building, please ask them.
This is the Theatre Foyer. You may be asked to wait here until the house is open.
You will be shown how to get to the Carne Theatre by an usher.
This performance will take place in the Carne Studio Theatre.
This is the entrance.
When you enter, an Usher will take your ticket from you.
You can sit in any seat.
The house lights will stay on low throughout the show.
There is a break-out space called ‘The Rittner Room’ which you are welcome to use at any point during your visit. It can be accessed via the stairs or lift in the main entrance foyer.
If you aren’t sure about any of this information during your visit please ask an usher or anybody wearing a lanyard.
Before the show begins, the actors will introduce themselves and the characters they are playing.
The lights in the theatre will dim and she show will start. You can leave and re-enter if you need to through the doors you came in through.
At the end of the show the actors will come on and bow. You are welcome to clap at this point if you would like.
Tartuffe Company Headshots
ELMIRE
Samya De Meo
PERNELLE
Ellie Larkin DORINE Carys Murray
MARIANNE
Jessica Anderson ORGON
Max Pink
VALERE
Dylan Ennis
TARTUFFE
Samuel Ferrer
LOYAL/OFFICER
Cameron Forrest
Synopsis
Below is a synopsis of the play to aid in contextualizing the following sensory guide.
Orgon is the man who has everything. Money, power, a beautiful family. But lately he's been questioning the point of it all. When he invites Tartuffe into his perfect household, he unleashes a whirlwind of deception and seduction that threatens everything. With Orgon under Tartuffe's spell, can his family outwit this charismatic trickster? Are Tartuffe's wild claims truth or fiction? This mysterious stranger may not be quite the villain he appears. John Donnelly's ferocious new version of Moliere's comic masterpiece looks at the lengths we go to find meaning - and what happens when we find chaos instead.
Scene 2 (continued)
Orgon goes to slap Dorine after she answers him back. He stops himself.
There are discussions of suicide as Mariane thinks this could be the only way to get out of marrying Tartuffe. Dorine makes a joke out of this.
Dorine shouts at Mariane to get her to listen and understand.
There is heightened dialogue between Valere and Mariane which gets louder and more whiny as the scene progresses.
Valere suddenly bursts back through the doors which may startle you.
There is loud classical music in the scene change.
Scene 3
Throughout this scene Elmire is in shock and a bit scared, and raises her voice at multiple points.
She pushes Tartuffe off her and he falls off the chaise longue onto the floor
Tartuffe wails in shame
Damis appears out of hiding and pushes Tartuffe to the floor. He grabs him by the hair.
Orgon shouts and charges at Damis, threatening to break his arms.
Orgon has a raised voice as he talks to Damis, before banishing him.
Scene 3 (continued)
There is tense underscoring which turns into classical music towards the end of the scene, as Orgon decides to give details to Tartuffe about his confession.
There is now a 15 minute interval
ACT 2
Scene 4
Tartuffe now has acolytes with him in the house They are humming throughout the opening of this scene.
The humming continues as Tartuffe is speaking to Cleante in the scene and it gets more intense, alongside a rumbling sound effect which is quite distressing.
After Orgon sees that Tartuffe has been trying to seduce Elmire, he shouts at him, telling him to get out of the house and chases him around the chaise longue.
After Tartuffe leaves, there are screams of joy from the family members.
Orgon falls to the chaise longue after realising he has made a huge mistake giving details of his confession to Tartuffe.
During this there is tense instrumental classical music, that gets very loud in the scene change.
Scene 5
Loyal, a lawyer, tells the family that they need to leave the house by the end of the day as Tartuffe has the deeds to the house. The whole family gasp very loudly.
After Tartuffe has been arrested, all of family laugh and shout in agreement loudly.
Tartuffe breaks free and addresses the audience. There is a sudden lighting change to red and there is a high pitch noise
Tartuffe is thrown out of the door.
Tartuffe comes back in to the house and has blood all over his face, to represent him being beaten off stage.
Tartuffe gives a final speech that has tense music underscoring it.
There is a blackout.
During the end people will clap and may stand up, cheer or shout to tell the actors they did a good job.
