The Literati — Griffin Theatre Company

Overview

Molière might be a 17th century playwright, but don't bother brushing up on your French — or your 17th century comedic lingo, for that matter. For Griffin Theatre Company's latest production, Australian playwright Justin Fleming has taken one of Molière's most acclaimed works by the scruff of the neck and hauled it forward four centuries into the present, rhyme scheme and all. "It's a piss-take on pretentious literary conceit," writes Fleming. "That the learned fool is more of a fool than an ignorant one remains as much a conundrum for us in the 21st century as it did for audiences in the 17th."

So what's it about? Juliette wants to marry Clinton. Her father approves, but her mother wants her to marry a poet, Tristan Tosser. Clinton's ex-girlfriend is also Juliette's sister, who's keen to torpedo her sister's chances. Cue farce, of the sprawling and tangled variety which Molière did so well.

The Literati, co-produced by Griffin and Bell Shakespeare and directed by Lee Lewis, promises to be a hilarious and anarchic romp that prods at Sydney's culture of faux-intellectualism.