Tartuffe

An original adaptation of Molière's classic by the Slovak Chamber Theatre Martin, directed by Anna Klimešová, transforms the play into a disturbing account of manipulation, trust, and power in contemporary society. Behind the image of a peaceful family life, it reveals the mechanisms that allow a person who arrives "with good intentions" to gradually appropriate others' relationships, home, and truth.

Tartuffe does not come to shatter a harmonious world - he enters a space where cracks have long since formed. Behind the white fence and the image of family contentment lies a world into which a manipulator can step, if we ourselves open the door. He is empathetic, willing to help, pleasant. He knows how to listen, encourage, and name our fears - while imperceptibly occupying more and more space.

Klimešová's, Boris Jedinák's, and the collective's adaptation moves Molière's classic to the contemporary Slovak countryside. The creators focus not only on the figure of the manipulator, but on the mechanisms that allow him to gain power. Mikoláš Zik's set design creates an idyllic image of home that gradually becomes a trap: trust turns into dependence, care into control, family values into a tool of domination. At the centre of the production stands a family discovering that the greatest danger does not come from outside, but is born from their own silence, fear, and willingness to hand over responsibility to someone else.

Klimešová and Jedinák preserve the basic situation of Molière's play, but instead of simple updating, they show why this story remains disturbingly relevant - and why the most effective manipulation today does not come from external prohibitions, but from subtle influence on our own thinking. The contemporary Tartuffe does not appear as an enemy, but as an advisor, saviour, or friend who "means well" for us.

Following the performance, there will be a discussion with the creators.

Recommended age: 15+

No intermission.