Play Review: ‘Tartuffe’ at the Studio Theatre

Another addition to the University of Alberta’s Studio Theatre’s 2025–26 season, Tartuffe, directed by Kathleen Weiss, brings plenty of gaudy costumes, a beautiful set, and some less than perfect things. 

Tartuffe, a play first put on in 1664, follows a family whose father, Orgon (Liam Sievwright), has been sucked into Tartuffe’s (Joshua Hope) facade of perfection. Everyone else is able to see through the act — and is deeply annoyed by it. When Orgon decides to make his daughter Mariane (Caileigh Muilenburg) Tartuffe’s wife, the family sets out to expose Tartuffe.

The play was funny and amusing, but at times it dragged on. The first half was mostly talking without much actually happening. The second half was mostly — rather amusing – chaos. This was to no fault of the cast, who delivered great performances. They all met the demands of the story to be over-the-top and ridiculous. The comedy and physicality of the cast can’t be understated.

But the clear highlight was Flipote (Tori Kibblewhite), the under housemaid. Kibblewhite’s performance started even before the play, cleaning the stairs in the seating area and poking fun at the audience. It became clear even before the play began that she would be the highlight. She was present in almost every scene, doing some random or ridiculous things that had the audience laughing. Her physicality and comedy was unmatched and made the play worth watching.

Laurent (Sable B. Boltz), Tartuffe’s servant, was a close second. He spent much of the play sneaking around, and eventually trying to romance Flipote. The two together were hilarious, whether they were fighting or dancing with each other. The progression of their relationship was just as interesting to me as the rest of the plot.

The rest of the cast delivered great performances, with the exception of a few fumbled lines. Elmire’s (Gabi Stachniak) scenes with Tartuffe were so well done by both actors. Loyal (Lauren Johnson), though a short part, added more humour and a brilliant accent to the play. All of the characters were over-the-top and oftentimes ridiculous. The performances, specifically the physicality, matched that perfectly. 

And the costumes matched the madness. They were honestly ugly, but it fit perfectly with the play. From the bright colours to horrible fabrics, it was all gaudy to the extreme. Orgon looked more like Willy Wonka than the head of a respectable household. But it worked with the story, only making Orgon’s buffoonery even more evident. 

The set was absolutely gorgeous. A split staircase from gigantic doors framed the space where most of the play took place. It was visually beautiful, but also worked extremely well to allow for the cast to slip in and out of the scenes. 

The lighting, however, left a lot to be desired. It was oftentimes too dim to really get a good sense of the actors’ expression. At other times, lights flashed underneath the stairs, without serving much purpose beyond distracting from the scenes. The tech of a play can make or break the show, and I can’t say it made it for Tartuffe.

Tartuffe had potential — it was funny, the cast played their parts well, and the set was amazing. Unfortunately, between the script and the writing, it fell flat. If the play had been all Flipote and Laurent, I might have been more impressed.