Moliere’s classic is brought up to date in this brand new version by BAFTA and Emmy-Award winning writers, Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto. 

Set in the Pakistani Muslim community in Birmingham, Tartuffe tells the story of charismatic chameleon, Tahir Taufiq Arsuf.  Tartuffe has the gift of the gab. A spirituality.

A certain aura about him….that comes only when you’ve got Allah on your side, hundreds of Twitter followers and access to the family’s bank account. 

The production is directed by Birmingham-born Iqbal Khan, following his recent RSC productions of Othello and Antony and Cleopatra. 

The title role (Tahir Taufiq Arsuf) is played by Asif Khan, who returns to the RSC having played Captain Jack in the sell-out production of Richard Bean’s The Hypocrite.

The cast also includes Salman Akhtar (Waqaas), Raj Bajaj (Damee Pervaiz), James Clyde (Khalil), Sasha Behar (Amira Pervaiz), Michelle Bonnard (Darina), Zainab Hasan (Mariam Pervaiz), Naveed Khan (PC Raj Kumar), Simon Nagra (Imran Pervaiz), Sam Pay (Policeman), Riad L Richie (Usman), Vivienne Smith (Policewoman), Yasmin Taheri (Pippa) and Amina Zia (Dadimaa Pervaiz).

Asian Image:

Iqbal Khan during Tartuffe rehearsals (Photos by Topher McGrillis, copyright RSC)

Iqbal Khan, the production’s director, said, “I am excited by the potency of setting the play in a modern Islamic family and in a community under pressure, where religion is so problematically the thing that identifies them.

"This great play retains its relevance and satiric bite when the religious context is acute. 

"Tartuffe is the archetypal confidence trickster, someone who preys on the vulnerability of others.

"He is the deft manipulator, branding himself and the truth. In a world that is increasingly complex there is great consolation in those who provide concrete and simple solutions, the entrepreneurial iconoclasts! I’m a Brummie and born into a Pakistani Islamic family, so this feels like a very personal journey to undertake.”

Tartuffe is on at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 7 September 2018 – 23 February 2019.

For tickets click here Or call the Box Office on 01789 403493.