Olivia Williams says her starring role in the National Theatre production of Molière’s 350-year-old Tartuffe raises moral questions about how women are judged in the MeToo era.
The Sixth Sense actress, 50, plays Elmire in the play about an imposter who worms his way into a prosperous family home and pursues his host’s wife repeatedly without her consent.
To her annoyance, her husband Orgon values his friend Tartuffe above her, refusing to believe her. In writer John Donnelly’s updated version of the play, Elmire reveals she has had extramarital flings — prompting both her husband and brother Cleante to judge her.
After the show’s press night at the National’s Lyttelton Theatre last night, Williams said the play resonated with women bringing sexual assault allegations today.
“If Elmire has had lovers, it should not affect her right to find Tartuffe offensive,” she told the Standard. “It was a really interesting test of one’s own moral choices about a woman’s right to choose who she has sex with. On one hand she is performing the ancient art of entrapment … but on the other hand she has to go through that to be believed.
Williams added: “The original play is shocking because Elmire is faithful to her husband … when a man tries to have sex with her, her honour and standing in society is compromised.”
Tartuffe is played by True Blood actor Denis O’Hare, 57, who said his character was “delusional” rather than an “out and out” villain. “He really does whip himself up into this belief that this woman, through her coated words, is actually saying, ‘I love you too, I’m attracted to you too’,” he said. “For him, love and lust are completely collapsed, and there is no difference.”
Williams has previously alleged that producer Harvey Weinstein offered her an Oscar in exchange for sexual favours.
She said that incident and her character’s plight “bear no resemblance”, but added: “It’s an interesting exercise to compare and contrast the two experiences.”
