Bell Shakespeare's Faustus

Straight off the plane from Townsville I headed for the Opera House to see the marvellous Bell Shakespeare's Faustus .Again for artshub
http://www.artshub.com.au/au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/faustus-184670?sc=1
Bell Shakespeare and the Queensland Theatre Company have brought us a thoroughly chilling, thrilling, and extremely modern morality tale with this marvellous reworking of the Faust story (yes, think Goethe, Gounod, Berlioz, Mann etc). This new production is based in part on the now rarely seen Marlowe play, adapted by Michael Gow, but also incorporates quotes from Donne, Milton, Dryden and the King James Bible, among others. It also includes puppetry and mask work as well as more traditional theatrical forms.
According to the programme the original Faust legend goes back to Assyrian times, but we’re more familiar with its development since the mid-16th century, with Faustus, a megalomaniac professor, selling his soul to the Devil (a contract signed in blood) in return for 24 years of worldly power and hedonistic pleasure, with Mephistophilis, Lucifer’s chief demon steward, as his servant.
Before surrendering to damnation, Faustus has Mephistophilis produce an orgy of earthly delights. With daemonic aid the professor becomes famous for resurrecting the beauteous Helen of Troy and the military hero Alexander the Great (both proving to be an illusion), produces grapes so he can flirt with empresses, and generally experiences the heights of lust and power.
The ‘artificiality’ and ‘theatricality’ of this production are enhanced by use of microphones, voiceovers, projections etc, and the fact that this is all done on a specially constructed proscenium arch stage, complete with curtain. At times there is a decadent, smoky Weimar cabaret feel to this Faustus, yet it can also oddly feel like a Medieval mystery play. (Indeed, we see the Seven Deadly Sins, the temptation and fall in the garden of Eden, and other Bible stories, all wickedly twisted and narrated by Belzebub). All this contributes to the tone of the evening and boy, it really works.
The action is at times surreal and childlike; at other times it is presented coolly and objectively, with a sense of Brechtian theatrical alienation. The use of masked, framed, screened, consciously ‘performed’ action intrigues us, and is used to reveal the major issues involved. Mention here must be made of the technical crew’s advanced multimedia work, especially that of lighting designer Jason Glenwright and video designer Chris More.
The cast is terrific.
The magnetic, Byronically handsome Ben Winspear as Faustus is superb, and we suffer with him. His haunting rendition of Dryden’s “Come live with me and be my love” speech to Gretchen is mesmerizing. As the eerie, dominating Mephistophilis, John Bell is sinister yet wickedly twinkling, delightful and forceful in an elegant grey suit. There are shades of Underbelly about him – no wonder Gretchen feels a chill and is uneasy when Mephistophilis is around.
As in Goethe, Faustus’ desire for a wife leads Mephistophilis to produce teenage schoolgirl Gretchen, brilliantly portrayed by Kathryn Marquet. Her story, as linked to Faustus, is a study in the corruption and downfall of innocence and purity, leading even to murder, heartlessly controlled by Mephistophilis.
As others of my colleagues have noted, Gretchen has a rather shocking sort of Black Swan sexual awakening on her bed of stuffed animals (to a Schubert lieder, with subtitles) observed and manipulated by Lucifer and Mephistophilis, which viewers should attempt to connect with intellectually and not stalk from, affronted and muttering as they depart the theatre.
Vanessa Downing as Hecate, Gretchen’s mother (and other roles) not only acts brilliantly but sings Schubert lieder very well. The cast also includes Jason Klarwein as a suave, terribly handsome Mafia-style Lucifer, and Catherine Terracini as a very sexy Belzebub, who gives a gripping reading of certain Bible passages.
We all know what happens eventually – Faustus’s extended death scene, while brilliantly done, is perhaps a little anti-climactic – but both at the beginning and the end of the play there is heavy moralizing, and the audience is left questioning what desires, if any, you would sell your own soul to Lucifer for?
Rating: Five stars
Faustus
Adapted and directed by Michael Gow
Assistant Director: Catarina Hebbard
Designer Jonathon: Oxlade
Lighting Designer: Jason Glenwright
Composer: Phil Slade
Video Designer: Chris More
Cast: John Bell, Vanessa Downing, Jason Klarwein, Kathryn Marquet, Catherine Terracinii and Ben Winspear
Sydney Opera Playhouse
June 30 – July 24
IPAC Wollongong
July 27 - 30
Running time: 1 hour 45 mins (approx) no interval