Does the land of Shakespeare care for 400-year-old French playwright Moliere?

When the French refer to their native tongue, it is the 'language of Moliere', and as he turned 400 this week he remains as central to their culture as Shakespeare in the English-speaking world. Photo: AFP

American actor Denis O’Hare could sense the ghost of Moliere smiling as he rode his co-star Olivia Williams like a horse on stage at London’s National Theatre.

Usually a rather cerebral place, the National’s audience was in stitches as O’Hare’s character Tartuffe, from the classic 17th-century French play, tried to disguise his adulterous antics as a bit of horseplay.