Sandra Oh Dazzles in Modern Molière

Sandra Oh delivers a striking National Theatre debut, portraying Alice, a Booker-winning novelist, in Martin Crimp's modern adaptation of Molière's "The Misanthrope." Oh masterfully handles Crimp's rhyming couplets, embodying Alice's demand for emotional honesty, a trait she struggles with regarding her movie-star boyfriend.

The play expands Molière's mockery of social hypocrisy to encompass contemporary issues such as online misogyny, Big Tech's intrusion into privacy, and the phenomenon of "grievance farming." This meta-theatrical piece, set in a luxurious hotel lobby designed by Robert Jones, uses Alice as a proxy against what Crimp terms "vulgarian hordes."

Alice's commitment to her moral code is tested when she is accused of sexual harassment online, jeopardizing a literary award and her reputation. Her lover, Stefan, a famous actor with addiction issues, faces his own reputational challenges, with managers attempting to sanitize his image.

Crimp's adaptation, his second take on Molière, is noted for its intelligent writing for actors, though the production directed by Indhu Rubasingham is described as unfocused and meandering. The play concludes with a baroque, wig-filled finale that critics found ineffective.

Despite thematic meandering, the performances, particularly by Oh and Paul Chahidi as Alice's playwright friend John, are lauded. The production offers a clever, if uneven, commentary on modern social dynamics and artistic integrity, making it a noteworthy, if flawed, theatrical event.