Dr Faustus Review
Before I ventured out to watch Dr Faustus, I had read various reviews and researched the storyline of the play, which helped me understand the plot and what to expect from the production. Comments from these reviews include “a play for all people who wonder why their lives have worked out as they have and regret it.” (Manchester Confidential), “compelling and entertaining” (Chester Chronicle), and “a frivolous piece of entertainment” (British Theatre Guide). After reading these reviews, it’s no wonder that I was thoroughly excited and raring to see this darkly satanic and visually stunning offering of epic theatre…
Doctor Faustus grows tired and dissatisfied with his job as a German scholar, and longs for information beyond the boundaries of human knowledge. With the help of two of his companions, Faustus attempts to start a new career as a magician, by conjuring up the devil, Mephastophilis. He then offers Lucifer a deal of his own soul for twenty-four years of service from Mephastophilis.
Not even twenty minutes has passed, and already I have found myself impressed, surprised and tightly gripped by the dark, mystical atmosphere that seems to engulf the stage and sets the scene for entertaining events to come. A massive black mask depicting the devil’s hideous grotesque features has been released from the ceiling, and hangs suspended from a long hollow tube whilst sustaining a devious conversation with Faustus, before reclining back up into the murky depths of hell. The whole contents of Faustus’s life have been frantically displayed before my eyes, and the stage has been set for an amazing and chaotic thrilling ride filled with captivating sorcery, nightmarish visions and awe inspiring special effects…
Meanwhile, the doctor’s servant Wagner, has also acquired some magical abilities of his own and uses it to summon a clown named Robin into his service. Mephastophilis then returns to Faustus with news that Lucifer has accepted his offer, and, after much debate, Faustus agrees and signs the deal with his own blood. However, Faustus has second thoughts after Mephastophilis refuses to tell him who is the creator of the universe, but these doubts are quelled when the seven deadly sins are brought before him in a parade of ritualistic evil.
So far, the production has been immense, intense and totally fits my expectations. Interesting new characters have been introduced such as Wagner, Robin and Mephastophilis in human form. The play has continued to stun and dazzle with the summoning of the seven deadly sins, Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed and Sloth, presented by large, deformed 3D masks which slither and ooze their way onto the stage before Faustus one by one, such as the bloated, overweight lust and the creepy, fly resembling Envy. These deformed creatures are furthermore amplified by effect laden, distorted voices, which seem to surround and send a shiver up your spine as you watch on, fascinated…
Next, Faustus begins to travel, and arrives in the Pope’s court in Rome, resulting in a grand and fabulous set change consisting largely of a royal red carpet, a triumphant golden candleholder chandelier and an almighty throne. The Pope and his followers, clad in red and white holy robes, enter the scene unsuspecting of the powerful magic that Faustus has in store for them…
A large wooden dining table is then brought onto the stage featuring lavish and bountiful foods highlighted by a rather large roast hog in the centre. Once the Pope and his followers are seated at the table, Faustus appears and sets about playing amusing and gloriously silly practical jokes upon them, resulting in their ultimate humiliation.
Suddenly, out of the blue and completely unexpected, loud music sounded and I looked on in sheer amazement as a blackened arm ripped out of the centre of the hog and a zombie appeared out of nowhere to scare the men away.
Already, the play has managed to combine key elements of theatre such as comedy and horror and effectively weave them both together into one tremendous scene. With such superbly presented effects and visual treats, could this play possibly get any better?
Eventually, Faustus is invited to the court of the German emperor, Charles V, who is the enemy of the Pope. Charles then asks Faustus to conjure up an image of Alexander the Great, resulting in Faustus seizing one of his men and producing a black cloak. He then covers the man from head to toe, and a couple of seconds later whisks the cloak away to reveal Alexander the Great, who then engages in an intense and vicious fight with another warrior armed with a spear.
I must admit, I never expected anything like that to occur, and it is an absolute marvel to ponder over how they could have accomplished such a task. The man didn’t even flinch underneath the cloak and suddenly he reappears five seconds later as Alexander the Great complete and in costume, ready to commence battle once again.
However, after a rather rude and obnoxious knight scoffs and mocks Faustus’ powers, the doctor responds in making a pair of quite large antlers sprout from the knight’s forehead. Furious and seething, the knight vows revenge…
Meanwhile, Robin has picked up some magical abilities of his own, and with a stable hand named Rafe, sets about on his own comic misadventures, which, unfortunately for them results in the summoning of Mephastophilis, who punishes them by turning their heads into those of animals.
Up to this point, Faustus has not only gained alibis in Satan’s hordes, but also enemies in well respected individuals such as the Pope, the Knight and Robin. So, just as everything is going very smoothly for Faustus as he performs tricks in front of the Duke and Duchess of Vanholt, a handful of angry people show up armed and prepared to kill Faustus, and regain their respect.
However, Faustus merely humiliates them again with his magical abilities, until at one point, he is struck down, and his head severed from his shoulders. The effect of this was amazing and utterly realistic, as when they remove Faustus’ head, the actor’s real head cannot be seen either, plus the fake head looked almost identical to the real thing. To their surprise, Faustus springs from the floor, fully alive and as sprightly as ever, ready to make them pay for what they have done…
The final few minutes of the first half make brilliant and spectacular use of lighting and stage direction. The final image, frozen for a split second, as blood red light shines down on Faustus and the Knight surrounded on all sides by at least fifteen zombie extras, is a remarkable piece of art similar to that in ancient satanic paintings, and really captures the immense and chilling atmosphere of the production perfectly. What an ingenious way to end the first half!
During the interval, I reflected upon this marvellous performance, and tried to recount all of the endless array of stunning and action packed visuals which seemed to shock, amuse, entertain and appear out of nowhere from a play which had so far truly surpassed my expectations. I was raring to watch the rest, and thoroughly prepared for an adventurous, demonic second half equal to the thrilling and spectacular show presented in the first.
However, the second half kicked off with a rather toned down, yet nevertheless dramatic sequence of events. His twenty-four years of unlimited power have nearly come to an end, and Faustus becomes increasingly fearful of his impending death. He asks Methastophillis to summon the beautiful Helen Of Troy, who appears wearing a white dress and facial mask, and uses her presence to impress a group of scholars.
Suddenly, and old man wearing a white suit enters, possibly to represent a messenger of God, and urges Faustus to repent, saying it is not too late to save his soul. Torn between the two extremes, Faustus drives the old man away, and once again summons Helen Of Troy for company and expresses his feelings about her beauty.
Although the second half so far hasn’t quite lived up to the amazing standards of the first, it represents a different, more emotional side to the play, which focuses less on special effects and more on the character development of the main characters, allowing the actors and actresses to act to the best of their ability. The scenes involving Faustus and Helen are particularly touching, as they depict a more human side of Faustus as a sort of bond is formed between the two.
The fact that Helen never speaks a word only adds to the atmosphere, shrouding her character with mystery and wonder. She makes Faustus finally see the error of his decision and have second thoughts about eternal damnation. The fact that she is clad almost entirely in white further emphasises the heavenly and good natured aspects of her character, contrasting to the deformed, monstrous minions from the depths of hell.
Torn between two extremes, Faustus decides to tell the scholars about his pact with the devil, as one last desperate resort to save his soul. They are horrified and pray for his life, but will their prayers prove enough to stop the merciless powers of the devil himself?
On the last night of his twenty-four years of limitless power, Faustus becomes increasingly distraught and panic stricken as the clock slowly ticks to his ultimate demise. Finally, the hour draws to an end and for a split second, Faustus is seized by a brief hope that he might be saved.
Suddenly, as if the devil had read Faustus’ mind, the floor literally opened, gradually enlarging to reveal a bright red glow emanating from a dark, deathly coffin, opened like the devil’s mouth waiting for Faustus to step inside. The Doctor’s hopes have been dashed in an instant and he knows there is no use attempting to resist the fate which he has brought on himself…
What followed was an unexpected, and somewhat remarkable piece of theatrical reflection. Faustus knelt down in front of the coffin and silence engulfed the theatre in a powerful dome of aching suspense. It gave the audience a chance to recollect on previous events, to ponder on what would have happened if Faustus had repented earlier, or it even provided `a thoughtful character examination of what the doctor was thinking of at that prolonged, mythical space in time.
As Faustus slowly reclined into his impending coffin of doom, these powerful and mesmerising seconds of past reflection finally came to a close, and the floor sealed, trapping Faustus below…
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, I must admit that the suspenseful few minutes of silence won’t prove to be to everyone’s taste. You could equally interpret those few minutes as slow, dull and boring without any sense of thought or imagination, but the key thing is, it requires a unique sense of feeling and the use of your own imagination to fully appreciate and reflect upon the previous sequence of events. Furthermore, I believe that it gives you a valuable insight into Faustus’ character and shows a different side of him which had not yet been revealed beforehand during the performance.
However, I was a tad disappointed by the very end of the production, as the traditional play promised a scene in which the scholars stumble upon Faustus’ grisly remains, torn apart limb by limb in a bloody mess scattered throughout the coffin. After Faustus’ disappearance into the depths of hell, instead of grotesque guts and ravaged limbs as the original play promised, disappointment ensued, as there was nothing of the sort and the production ended instantly. You would have thought that, after all the previous mind blowing special effects, that they could have at least made an effort to make the ending as gruesome and sickening as possible!
I was also rather disappointed with the vocals of Patrick O’Kane, who played Dr Faustus, as he sounded rather too soft and even broke into song at some points in the production. I was expecting a merciless, self centred man who was selfish and cared for no one except himself. Instead, Faustus proved to be creepy, sensitive and even a tad weedy at times. His rather frequent outbursts into short lines of song were rather inventive and imaginative, but he sounded more like he was singing in some modern pop band than the booming vocals of the devil. I was so surprised by his voice, I even thought he had a lisp when he first came on stage!
These points aside, the fact still remains that Dr Faustus is a thoroughly exciting and captivating play which incorporates key elements of the theatre such as horror, drama, and comedy strung together with imaginative features and marvellously stunning special effects. The acting is tremendous, if a little strange and not as expected at times, and further aspects such as powerful lighting, an effective soundtrack and lavish set designs only help to further my satisfaction of this epic version of Marlowe’s masterpiece.
Overall- 8.5/10
By Patrick Johnson
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