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About Marlowe Synopsis Theme Art Text
Themes - page 2
We wanted to play down the idea that the play was about religion or God. We thought that the struggle Faustus has is with himself, not with any higher power. We decided to make the good and evil angels in Marlowe’s play a combination of voices of his concerned colleagues, the scholars, and voices inside his head. This way we could also use these scenes to highlight the isolation Faustus feels.
Concerned scholars, video clip
Voices by Carol Chilcott
We became certain that one of the reasons why Faustus goes ahead with his contract with Lucifer is isolation. Faustus has lots of colleagues, but how many people really know and love him? We thought that it was very important that the very first thing Faustus asks for after signing the contract was a wife - someone who would love him and share his life with him.
To show Faustus’ isolation physically in the performance, we placed him behind a desk on a rostrum, while all his colleagues sat below him in two rows, facing each other. They had companionship, while he was on his own.
Goodbye to those books, video clip
In the end, we thought that the thing Faustus most wanted was power, and that is why he wants the contract with Lucifer. He wants to have power over everything in his life, including his death.
We spent a lot of time early in rehearsal looking at power and status, using master/servant games. See Rehearsal section
