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20-29 May 2010, Old Queens Theatre, 120 Hereford St, Platform Arts Festival
Dr Faustus, scholar, magician and proto-scientist, sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for knowledge and for becoming a black magic spectacular entertainer.
From a time when the certainties of God and nature were increasingly destabilised by the schism of the Christian religion and the birth of science, Marlowe's Faustus is both folk hero and villain. He speaks to a contemporary audience caught at a similar, destabilising social moment, when the success of science has led to a highly technologised entertainment culture but also to the possibility of the self-destruction of the human race. As with Faustus, our simultaneous quest for knowledge and distraction leads us into an unknown future. What are we selling our soul for? And what sort of hell awaits us? Faustus sells his soul for knowledge but is distracted into illusionism and spectacular entertainment instead. He ultimately finds out that hell, a place that he doesn't believe in and therefore doesn't care if he is condemned to, has always surrounded him already. Free Theatre's celebrated Doctor Faustus is performed using a progression of styles and technologies, from shadow puppets and renaissance theatre through expressionism and early animation up to the latest digital toys. Playing to sold-out houses and winning critical and popular acclaim at the 2010 Platform Arts Festival, the production was praised for innovatively staging a well-known classic for a modern audience. |
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...a thorough, innovative and highly commendable investigation into the relevance of a 17th century theatre classic for todays audiences... 
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Reviews...retold, rewritten and re-energised in this production from director Peter Falkenberg, whose own particular pact with the muse of theatre has led to a sustained and immensely creative output.... It took both nerve and imagination to pull it off, on the part of the director and equally, on the part of the cast. At the same time, Doctor Faustus is not a wondrous magic show. The magic always plays second fiddle to the message, which is really about where the desire for knowledge has led the human species. It is about our own hell, I guess. 
...an exciting and enterprising production... 
The language itself was delivered beautifully by George Parker, Ryan Reynolds was another standout playing Wagner and also the commentator, and Prologue. The devils, and Mephistopheles unfortunately suffered from a strange tortured diction that didn't portray evil but just became a strain to listen to. But everyone's comprehension was excellent, you know I even understood some of the Latin. 
Like Faust, the spectator is in danger of being lost in this amorphous and forbidden world but through deft theatrical execution and delightful with and comic timing, one comes through the experience relatively unscathed but let with plenty to ponder. Be sure to catch any future output from this fantastic company. 
I came last night to the show - wow! Absolutely loved it - was captivated for the entire time, as were others I came with. Loved the range of elements you used - in fact am still smiling when I think about it! 
ResearchLiz Boldt used this production as part of her research for her PhD A Constant Magic: Explorations of Magic and polyphasic consciousness in recent Theatre and Film, University of Canterbury, 2017.
A full film recording of the project exists in our archives. 
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