Without trust, every human relationship becomes impossible. Orgon's family mistrusts Tartuffe, and increasingly so, the more the patriarch places his trust in him. Their suspicions are proven right. Tartuffe is a sanctimonious hypocrite who preys upon people's gullibility for his own profit. Moliere's adversaries were the hypocritical clerics of his day who fought tooth and nail to prevent Tartuffe from being performed. Eventually, the king sanctioned the performance, in a similar way to the regal turn for the best he displays in the actual play. The gullible Orgon is saved, the family remains intact and the daughter can marry her lover. Moliere presents the hypocrite and his victim to an audience who at no point are left in any doubt of the evil intentions being pursued and the extent of Orgon's naivety which prevents him from figuring them out. Evil draws its power not from its concealment. On the contrary, it is very easily spotted. But Orgon, like all of us, is compelled more often than not to trust people and the world if he wants to live. 

Schaubuehne

The Schaubuehne was founded in 1962. Since 1999 it has been led by artistic director Thomas Ostermeier. The foundation of his tenure was laid in the formation of a new ensemble of permanently employed actors, who essentially have been working together ever since, regularly extended by new appointments.

The Schaubuehne premieres a minimum of ten shows per season alongside a repertoire of over 30 existing productions. Starting from the concept of an ensemble theatre, the actors, dramatic characters and situations of a play take centre stage at the Schaubuehne. 

One of the theatre's distinctive features is a stylistic variety in approaches to directing, which includes new forms of dance and musical theatre. The search for a contemporary and experimental theatre language which focuses upon storytelling and a precise understanding of texts - both classical and contemporary - is a unifying element. The repertoire encompasses the great dramatic works of world literature alongside contemporary plays from internationally renowned writers which, with over 90 world and German premieres during the past 13 years, have been a key component of the theatre's work. 

The search for new dramatic forms has benefited from a lively international exchange which has regularly brought the Schaubuehne and its ensemble into close contact with other theatrical traditions. Alongside directors from Berlin such as Ostermeier, Michael Thalheimer, Armin Petras, Patrick Wengenroth, Falk Richter and Marius von Mayenburg, the Schaubuehne frequently offers a platform in Berlin to notable directors from abroad. Currently productions by Milo Rau, Simon McBurney, Romeo Castellucci, Katie Mitchell, Rodrigo García, Yael Ronen and the choreographer Constanza Macras are being shown at the theatre. At the same time, the Schaubuhne showcases its productions abroad in over 100 performances every year: whether at big international theatre festivals like the Festival d'Avignon, the Salzburg Festival, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, the Festival Internacional de Buenos Aires (FIBA), the Istanbul Festival and the Territorija Festival in Moscow; or as guest performances at theatres around the world including in New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Quebec, Sao Paulo, London, Moscow, Oslo, Ramallah, Melbourne, Ottawa, Taipei, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Rennes, Barcelona, Adelaide, Tokyo, Prague, Sydney, Montreal and Beijing. 

Every spring since 2000 the Festival of International New Drama (F.I.N.D.) has given internationally renowned theatre makers the opportunity to show their work at the Schaubuehne. The recent focus has been upon writer-theatremakers who write and direct their own work or substantially develop existing dramatic material. Since 2011 F.I.N.D. has been complemented by the 'F.I.N.D. Plus' workshop programme which is a forum for acting, directing and dramaturgy students from several European countries.