I don’t like Doctor Faustus. Having studied the text in my first year, I found it to be stuffy, boring and confusing. Durham University Classical Theatre’s recent rendition, however, is everything but these traits: a tour-de-force of energy, organised chaos, beautiful design, and fantastic direction and characterisation. The cast and crew behind this production took my expectations for the show, and ripped them up, ultimately creating one of the best shows I have seen within Durham Student Theatre.
Directors Jude Battersby and Maia Lindop Harris curate a whirlwind almost from the offset. From Noah Lazarides’ Faustus jumping on and over furniture, to Bethan Avery’s Mephistopheles’ striking red blazer, to Tori Travers’ emphatic entrance on a scooter, tight yet chaotic brilliance is tightly ingrained within the fabric of this production throughout. Dance and performance scenes created by Movement Director Felicity Rickard inject camp energy, especially in the introduction of the Seven Deadly Sins, a personal favourite scene that confirmed this rendition is a far cry from the Faustus I had expected.
Noah Lazarides is, simply put, a fantastic actor. His Faustus brims with charisma at the start of the play, before crumpling, becoming a man plagued with religious guilt. Perhaps the greatest strength of Lazarides’ portrayal is in his understanding of the rhythms of Marlowe’s challenging text, enunciating each word perfectly as to clearly convey meaning. His stage presence is incredible, and this is never more apparent than in his duologue scenes with Bethan Avery as Mephistopheles, with whom he has fantastic comedic chemistry and camaraderie, yet with whom he also is plagued with a deep fear, marked wonderfully in their proxemics throughout. Avery is similarly excellent, using space purposefully and intently. Her Mephistopheles is sexy, dynamic, and charming – a far cry from the devil I imagined.
Another dynamic duo is that of Edward Clark and Samuel Bentley as the Good and Evil Angels. The directorial decision to have them start the show in the audience before bursting out of their seats to guide Faustus, lit by spotlights, was an impeccable choice. Their characterisation was as great as their costuming, in their slick blazers adorned with their respective names on the back. For this, and for many of the other costumes, Eve Fidler warrants high praise.
The range and abilities of each ensemble performer are fantastic. The aforementioned Seven Deadly Sins scene encapsulates everything that was fantastic about this production: clear characterisation; inventive staging; bonkers directorial decisions; and slick technical elements. A particular standout in the ensemble is Mulambo Mwambu Haimbe, who shines both as Lucifer, and the priest (an apt multi-roling choice by the directors). His stage presence is immense, making the absolute most of his short stage time, and embodying the very real dichotomy of tragedy and comedy throughout. Tori Travers’ Clown is another unexpected highlight, as are Bentley’s Robin and Roxy Rayward’s Rafe; all three actors’ characterisations demonstrate Battersby’s, Lindop Harris’s, and Rickard’s strengths in directing and choreographing physical comedy. Each actor in the production works well to create a tight-knit ensemble, which allows directorial and technical decisions to shine.
Visually, these technical aspects are fantastic. Production Manager George Murray and his team ensure that the technical and stage elements of the show, though inventive, intricate, and complicated, are also incredibly slick. Lighting changes correspond perfectly to Avery’s claps, and slow fades in lighting perfectly complement the show’s changing moods and tensions, for which both Designer Flora Wood and Operator Ruby Huynh should be applauded. The set is largely unchanging, simply yet effectively showing Faustus’ study, adorned with battered books, statues, and scientific instruments, until the curtain rises towards the end of act one and Hell is revealed, intricately dressed, and making good use of proxemics.
Act Two, at times, loses the narrative clarity that Act One excels at portraying. Faustus’ ageing is not clear – neither are some of the historical figures alluded to – and the shifts between scenes of extreme comedy, and extreme tragedy are perhaps slightly too stilted. However, I cannot not be impressed at a show that brings Marlowe’s writing to life in a way genuinely beyond my imagination. Bentley and Rayward dressing into monkey onesies on stage, Haimbe getting pied in the face by an invisible Faustus, and Avery and Lazarides riding horse structures (genuinely fantastically constructed by Carrie Cheung) are all examples of where this show achieves the seemingly impossible, and for such, the entire team behind this production must be applauded.
Could some narrative elements have been slightly clearer? Yes. But, equally – do I think I could ever enjoy a production of Doctor Faustus more? Absolutely not.
A massive congratulation to every single person involved.
Image: Durham University Classical Theatre