CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
www.curtainup.com


HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

a list of all book reviews, see our,
VALVESGate valvePRESSURE VALVESGlobe valveCHECK VALVES
SEARCH

REVIEWS

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
DC
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

On TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us
A CurtainUp London London Review
Faustus



This is Hell – enjoy the party!
---- Foster
Faustus
Jake Maskall as Mephistopheles
(Photo: Manuel Harlan)
The dilemma facing any modern production of Faustus is how to make a story of arcane religious belief interesting to a contemporary audience. Marlowe's biblical characters, Latin incantations, and the true horror of irreversible necromancy are not the most accessible or obviously relevant subjects. However, this version by Headlong Theatre (formerly known as the Oxford Stage Company) possesses exhilarating modernity without diluting any of Marlowe's original genius.

The brilliant Rupert Goold, director and co-adapter, dramatises a recent event and develops it as a parallel narrative: that of artist provocateurs, the Chapman brothers and their controversial decision to "rectify" Goya's etchings by painting over scenes of suffering with clown faces. Into the legendary Faustus' history, scenes of this modern story are interwoven. However, the Chapman brothers are not represented as a simple analogy of selling one's soul but rather as a shifting paradigm. The shared focus between the old and the new dramas is the irrevocable and momentous deed committed by the protagonists.

Stephen Noonan and Jonjo O'Neill are superb as the nihilistic, deconstructive or perhaps just destructive artists. In scruffy paint-splattered jeans and sneakers, they have a compelling stage presence and are very intense in their conviction that they can turn men from sheep into ‘suffering gods' through the power of art. Nevertheless, upstaging everyone, is Mark Lockyer's fabulously funny Foster, a BBC art critic and poseur extraordinaire. His character is hilariously pretentious and an absolute pleasure to watch.

Conversely, the Marlowe scenes are played straight, largely unadapted and in period dress. By maintaining this in the midst of startling innovation, we have the double advantage of the beautiful 16th century poetry enlivened by 21st century relevance. Scott Handy, who plays Faustus, does well at delivering the language, although at times he struggles to engage as much as the modern characters.

It is said that early performances of the play were so terrifying that audiences believed the devil had actually appeared onstage. Jake Maskall's Mephistopheles, although perhaps not quite this petrifying, is not far off. His movement is incredibly creepy and his pupils are blanked out by white contact lenses. Wearing a dirty, askew toga, he slithers across the stage in an unmistakably inhuman and animalistic manner. He hisses at Faustus' first demand of servitude.

The two strands of the play begin as a series of distinct scenes, separated by revolving sets and slow-motion switches. However, as the play proceeds, they begin to merge and overlap. For example, the Chapman brothers hear Faustus' devil-summoning spells on their answer-phone. And at the Royal Academy opening of their installation, Hell, Faustus and Mephistopheles descend and mingle. Pointing out the attendees as the embodiments of the seven deadly sins, Mephistopheles (still slithering) helps himself to a glass of champagne.

Rupert Goold may have handled Marlowe in the same way that the Chapman brothers treated Goya: with newfangled, audacious interpolation. However, such artistic vandalism is utterly justified in this case. Marlowe's play is revivified whilst the new story is grounded with a shape which autobiographical material always struggles to find. This bold, assured production is exemplary in terms of writing, cast, direction and design as well as being both moving and intellectually stimulating.

FAUSTUS
Written by Christopher Marlowe adapted by Rupert Goold with Ben Power
Directed by Rupert Goold

With: Scott Handy, Stephen Noonan, Jonjo O'Neill, Mark Lockyer, Jason Morell, Jake Maskall, Sophie Hunter, Daniel Curshen, George Franco, Anneka Haskins, Susanna Hislop, Andrew Mathys, Gemma Measom , Isabelle Agerbak, Elinor Agerbak, Caitlin Burrows, Freya Burrows
Design: Laura Hopkins
Lighting: Malcolm Rippeth
Composer and Sound Design: Adam Cork
Running time: Two hours 30 minutes with one interval
Box Office: 020 722 9301
Booking to 18th November 2006
Reviewed by Charlotte Loveridge on 24th October 2006 performance at the Hampstead Theatre, Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, NW3 (Tube: Swiss Cottage)
London Theatre Walks


Peter Ackroyd's  History of London: The Biography



London Sketchbook



tales from shakespeare
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co.
Click image to buy.
Our Review


©Copyright 2006, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com