This is my finished review/personal response to Doctor Faustus at the Royal Exchange Theatre. I am not sure what else to add to it but will still keep it labelled a first draft.
PERSONAL RESPONSE (FIRST DRAFT?)
The Royal Exchange’s performance of Doctor Faustus was magical from the start.
The performance started promisingly and jumping straight into the story; my first doubts about whether I would understand everything or not washed away, and I became immersed in the play. After the mood had been set, still early on in the performance, there was a part that made a lot of people jump (including myself) and I thought it was really good, where a dark hellish figure came down from the ceiling. The rest of, at least, the first half was filled with more exciting moments many of which I would have not expected to be that visually stunning in a theatre. I thought the battles and intense scenes were brilliant, a strange dance-like theme running through the whole play.
The crowd were pulled right inside the set – not only was every seat a great position (if one special effect wasn’t very visible to where sat, definitely another one soon would be) but there were candles and books stacked around the edges of the stage and the balconies; chandeliers and neon lights suspended over the stage from the dark above; at parts, characters were almost right among the audience...
The director’s intention was to frighten everyone – “and if we do get it right, it should be absolutely terrifying in places.” I can imagine a young audience being frightened by the play, but although the play was jumpy in parts, it didn’t do that much to scare, at least, myself.
Clever “magic” tricks were performed at points throughout the play (a few by Faustus himself in his all-powerful state), which were shocking – at one point Faustus appears to have even been decapitated, looking very real (at first.)
Some of the costumes were interesting and creative (whilst in some ways also quite useful for the actors themselves), especially the use of masks recurring through the play (the most notorious of these the way Helen of Greece was portrayed, looking and moving like a doll.)
The set looked great all the time; starting and finishing in Faustus’ dark cellar, the scene changes were simply but effectively done – lights and chandeliers came down from the ceiling; dark figures ran on stage and took objects on and off; the most effective was the use of the roll-out carpet that, along with the lighting, drastically changed the colour and feel of each set that was displayed.
Not only were the visuals wonderful, but the sound carried very well in the circular venue, and the use of the plays 38* speakers, placed around the room, paid off quite well. The speakers were used to show voices in Faustus’ head, and also to make, with new technology, some of the things Faustus says echo around the room. I thought this would be used more often and more noticeably, from looking through the programme, but the speakers were still put to quite good use with the voices.
Even in times where there weren’t special effects and action scenes though, namely the second half, the play was still very enjoyable. Although some parts of the play could have been possibly shortened, some scenes were very tense, atmospherical and even emotional. An example is the mystical dance-like scene where Faustus meets Helen of Greece, summoned from hell, and another: the end scene - a slightly new take on the Doctor Faustus ending, as Faustus faces his fate and slowly steps into the grave, rather than being dragged off by demons as he argues against going to hell.
However, as well as in some ways being effective, this new ending and the way a lot of the rest of the play was done offered less of a dark and horrifying atmosphere, one that a lot of people would have expected from this play. The play focused less on the gore and sinister side of the play and a lot in the (modern,) comical side of the play, and in the characters. Although there were scenes that were a little sinister, for example where Faustus is presented the 7 deadly sins in front of him, or where people that plotted to kill him were hunted down and taken away by demons, there were more light-hearted, scenes added to the play that were obviously not in the original, like innuendo parts and comical references. This, as well as being disappointing for some, took away the authenticity of the play, which I thought was a bad thing.
Doctor Faustus is a great play, and this adaptation of it was, in short, pretty fantastic. Although for some (like fans of the play and those expecting a sinister experience) it may have been unsatisfactory, but generally it was a great adaptation for those that love theatre, and definitely brilliant enough to persuade those not too fond of theatre to become more fond of it.
