Review: Dr Faustus is a magnificent spectacle on the Leamington Stage
Christopher Marlowe’s classic anti-hero reaps the full rewards of his quest for knowledge in the Loft Theatre’s, magnificent new production.
What price learning? For Doctor Faustus (David Bennett) it is everything, even his very soul. Written in the early 17th century, and adapted here by David Fletcher, the play reflects the birth of the scientific age. Then, what we now call magic, was a method of investigation. How can man control his own fate; what if God were not the ultimate arbiter of reality? Could he really know the secrets of the universe and live forever?
In order to find out he makes a pact with the Devil (Christopher Bird) via his agent, the stern faced Mephistopheles (Peter Daly-Dickson). In return for all he wants and the unlimited services of Beelzebub’s minister, granted for a period of twenty-four years, he will sell his soul to hell. It is a bargain written in blood, not to be rescinded.
For a while Faustus has fun, learning the secrets of the universe and conjuring up the ghosts of dead heroes. But he betrays his lofty ambitions by playing slapstick jokes on His Holiness the Pope (Dominic Rhys Smith). Faustus is all too human after all: clever, foolish, vulnerable.
The Loft Theatre’s production makes full use of technology, including pyrotechnics. But most impressive for me was s the troupe of minor devils, on stage for much of the time as a living backdrop, writhing and grasping, spilling out into the audience, dressed in exotic costumes, ever leering. They are beautiful and frightening. The music too is awesome. Composed by Jonathon Fletcher, who also plays a number of parts on stage, it ranges from renaissance polyphony to heavy rock via jazz and ambient.
At the absolute centre is David Bennett as Faustus. It’s a huge role and it requires a powerful actor. He delivers, magnificently. He is well matched with Mephistopheles, against whose brooding presence the Devil himself might seem benign.
The Loft has pulled off a spectacular show that fires on all cylinders. The play may be four hundred years old, but it is never more relevant than now.
Tickets https://lofttheatrecompany.com Running until 26 July 2025.