Tartuffe (A French Play in Urdu)

Tartuffe (A French Play in Urdu) was performed by Theatre Wallay in collaboration with Alliance Française d’Islamabad and Embassy of France in Pakistan in the first week of April 2011 for three consecutive nights. All the three nights, the hall was full to the capacity, and people were sitting on stairs as well.

Tartuffe was originally written by Moliere in Paris in 1664. It was banned right after its first performance in France. The reason: it exposed the hypocrisy of religious bigots. As Pakistan, too, is reeling under religious hypocrisy, Theatre Wallay decided to perform this play in Pakistan in Urdu language. French was not an option because very few people in Pakistan understand French. English was also dropped as we wanted to connect with common Pakistanis; we did not want to do a play for the elite alone. Mr. Shaukat Niazi took up the Herculean task of translating this huge play into Urdu and he did a great job.

The Credits: