Doctor Faustus
Feb. 21st, 2016 04:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitI've been looking forward to the current RSC season since booking tickets last autumn. The first play on the list was Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, in the Swan Theatre.
Unfortunately, although interesting to see, it failed to capture us. The play begins with the two main actors, Oliver Ryan and Sandy Grierson, both striking a match. Whoever's match goes out first gets to play Faustus, whilst the other plays Mephistopheles. When I originally heard about this I liked the idea, but in fact I think it was just one in a series of innovations which weren't really necessary. Initially I was pleased Oliver Ryan was Faustus, since I've seen him in a number of other plays, but for whatever reason it didn't work. Both actors were encouraged to use their natural accents, and Ryan is Welsh which made it difficult for a number of the audience to understand him. Grierson is Scottish and was clearer. The director had cut the play so it had no interval and Faustus was on stage all the time - again for me an unnecessary personal decision.
The actors, including Ryan, are good, but for me they weren't served by the production. There was quite a long scene in which Faustus prepares the stage for summoning the devil - painting on the stage with his shirt. We were sitting in the Upper Gallery, which was fine, but anyone in the Stalls wouldn't have been able to see what was happening. And I suspect I wasn't alone in wondering how long it would take to clean the stage, rather than concentrating on what was happening.
The Seven Deadly Sins were stylised and impossible to work out which was which until they told us. The original audience would no doubt at least have a familiarity with the names of the sins, but apart from Gluttony any of them could have been any of the sins. Normally I enjoy seeing dance used in a performance to convey a message, but again it didn't work for me. Maybe, had I not been outside the performance already it would have been better, but it all seemed very insular. Certainly, there was little contact with the audience,which my understanding of plays from that time led me to expect.
I know Jamie Lloyd is putting on a production in London with Kit Harrington as Faustus. I doubt I'll see it, but I shall be interested to read the reviews of anyone who does.
Unfortunately, although interesting to see, it failed to capture us. The play begins with the two main actors, Oliver Ryan and Sandy Grierson, both striking a match. Whoever's match goes out first gets to play Faustus, whilst the other plays Mephistopheles. When I originally heard about this I liked the idea, but in fact I think it was just one in a series of innovations which weren't really necessary. Initially I was pleased Oliver Ryan was Faustus, since I've seen him in a number of other plays, but for whatever reason it didn't work. Both actors were encouraged to use their natural accents, and Ryan is Welsh which made it difficult for a number of the audience to understand him. Grierson is Scottish and was clearer. The director had cut the play so it had no interval and Faustus was on stage all the time - again for me an unnecessary personal decision.
The actors, including Ryan, are good, but for me they weren't served by the production. There was quite a long scene in which Faustus prepares the stage for summoning the devil - painting on the stage with his shirt. We were sitting in the Upper Gallery, which was fine, but anyone in the Stalls wouldn't have been able to see what was happening. And I suspect I wasn't alone in wondering how long it would take to clean the stage, rather than concentrating on what was happening.
The Seven Deadly Sins were stylised and impossible to work out which was which until they told us. The original audience would no doubt at least have a familiarity with the names of the sins, but apart from Gluttony any of them could have been any of the sins. Normally I enjoy seeing dance used in a performance to convey a message, but again it didn't work for me. Maybe, had I not been outside the performance already it would have been better, but it all seemed very insular. Certainly, there was little contact with the audience,which my understanding of plays from that time led me to expect.
I know Jamie Lloyd is putting on a production in London with Kit Harrington as Faustus. I doubt I'll see it, but I shall be interested to read the reviews of anyone who does.
