CityLife

Doctor Faustus

Patrick O'Kane

Doctor Faustus
Royal Exchange Theatre
September 13, 2010

The Royal Exchange launches its autumn/winter season with Christopher Marlowe’s famous tragedy of Doctor Faustus.

A contemporary of Shakespeare, the brilliance of Marlowe’s plays has caused eminent scholars to claim that, while not as prolific as our Will – Marlowe was killed in a tavern brawl when he was only 29 – he was a much better playwright.

Over 400 years later, the theme of this, his best known work, still remains relevant and over the centuries has been explored in a variety of forms on both stage and screen.

This sumptuous new production is in sharp contrast to the previous minimalist production seen at this theatre in 1981, which starred Salford’s Ben Kingsley.

This time, Exchange regular Patrick O’Kane grabs the coveted role of Doctor Faustus by the throat.

He plays the ambitious academic with such an insatiable lust for power that he’s driven to sign a covenant with the devil in his own blood. It’s a terrific performance.

Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards’ nominee Ian Redford plays Mephistopheles as an affable Father Christmas-like vicar and it works a treat.

With any new production, it’s the execution that matters and one of the highlights for me was Richard Hammarton’s original score, which was a delight.

While I’ll defend director Toby Frow’s right to attempt a different approach to this classic, it seems at times that he’s gone overboard with literal visualisations.

Ben Stones’ imaginative set and costumes are full of over the top surprises and with Darren Lang as the Magic Consultant, there’s a stunning array – indeed, almost a surfeit – of tricks that will make you gasp.

With one of the largest casts seen at the Exchange, actors flying in and out and special effects, this is a busy production in every sense incorporating puppetry, pageantry and a hint of Renaissance tragedy.

The strong cast of 12 is supplemented by 24 enthusiastic drama students from Manchester Metropolitan University. While I applaud
that initiative, it’s often a matter of crowd control.

This is undoubtedly an accessible epic spectacle, but let’s not forget that this is also about the inner turmoil of a human soul and the power of the imagination.

After all the pomp and circumstance – sometimes less is more – the real power for me still lies in Marlowe’s words.

Until Saturday October 9, 2010.