Dr. faustus Act 1- Part 1

Christopher Marlowe's adaptation of Faust, a man who sells his soul to the devil in return for 24 Years of having his every wish and desire fulfilled.

Performed in edinburgh, July 6-9 2008.

"THE SETTING IS ALMOST perfect, for this shoestring production of Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, staged by Alex Pryce's young Edinburgh-based company Chimaera. In a dank, dripping vault beneath Nicol Edwards Pub in the Old Town, an audience of thirty or so line the walls on pew-like seats; the atmosphere is instantly mediaeval, with a deep sense of the struggle between flesh and faith that is etched into the history of the city, and a definite whiff of the brimstone underworld from which Faustus's demons emerge.

The show that unfolds in this compelling space, though, is more mixed blessing than unqualified triumph. It looks sensational, and adapts Marlowe's text with real skill, surrounding Gary Quinn's lonely Faustus with a shape-changing chorus of six female demons - including Rebecca Hale's frightening Mephistopheles - in ripped fishnets, tartan-punk miniskirts, and scary Goth makeup. Quinn's Faustus radiates a powerful if baffled male sexuality, morphing from academic geek in the first act to stylish, lipsticked global playboy in the second; and if the vocal and verbal complexity of Marlowe's text sometimes defeats him, there's still a flicker of real star quality in the performance. Given the structure of the production - which could have been subtitled "Faustus And The Women " - Pearce could have mounted a more thorough and less self-consciously showy exploration of the tortured sexual politics of the Faustus story. But overall, this is a raw, vivid and enjoyably cheeky 90 minutes of theatre, bursting at the seams with theatrical energy and promise."

Reviewed by The Scotsman and given ***

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• dr
• doctor
• faustus
• faust
• nicol
• christopher
• marlowe
• shakespeare
• satan
• edwards
• edinburgh
• chimaera
• productions
• alex
• pryce

[ThePurelogic]

you should use costumes of the time, what is this? it looks like the 19th century with emo kids! be accurate damn't!

[chimaeraproductions]

@ThePurelogic There is no restriction within theatre that all plays from the 16th century must be clad in Elizabethan garb. Have you not seen Ian McKellan's Richard III? The costume and setting was in the style of Nazi Germany. I wonder why youa re not arguing that I should not have used female performers, as of course, there were no actresses at the time....

[tucup]

I cant hear anything being said in the begining because of the organ music. Although a nice touch was intended, the dialog takes second stage here. Shame I looked eldewhere for this as I cant hear anything..

[chimaeraproductions]

@tucup Yeah, the trouble was that the camera was sat next to the speaker system and there is no audeince to muffle the sound as it was a dress rehearsal. Wish I had recorded it from different angles now and edited it together. We live and learn :)

[levanyzzuf]

Someone should tell the organist to tone it down before he chokes on the scenery.

[almussalix]

Alright fine, you've managed to win me over. I take back my sarcasm.

[PR1SONER24601]

Oh America...

[kihmrock]

sometimes I cant understand this drama accent.

[AuroraGreenleaf]

I think everyone is being a bit harsh. I enjoyed watching this vid. I like the costumes, the atmosphere and the Scottish accents! Not all productions have to be the same.

[simplyhaydn]

this is awful.

[kalinis2011]

@ThePurelogic I completely agree. He cannot even do the Latin- at 3: 21 it should be "Benne deserere at finis logices" (wrong Latin spelling). Also, since when have the lines 'and this the man that in his study sits' meant a basement?

[tokiohotel0795]

my choir sung in this!! :D