Review: Faustus (Theatre Horizon)
To launch its ‘New Directors’ Movement’ programme, a platform for young directors to tackle world classics as a step for their future career, Theatre Horizon presents Faustus, an adaptation by Chan Tai Yin, based on Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus.
Directed by Chow Wai Chuen, Faustus, even though its execution is flawed, is a delightful adaptation of a classic that is young and chic with a distinctive vision.
Sure it is difficult to tackle Doctor Faustus to make it more engaging for the contemporary audience. I remember when I was watching the Shakespeare Globe version in 2011 through Digital Theatre, the very first time I encountered this play, I felt a bit bored by Marlowe’s words by its academic vibe, and if it wasn’t Arthur Darvill possessing such a melancholic presence as Mephistopheles with his handsome physique, I probably would have shut it off after watching it for half an hour.
But I do think Doctor Faustus actually can be much more engaging than this (personally, the Globe version is not impactful). I heard Jamie Lloyd’s version is a much more stylised and powerful version, but there were also sayings that it is more a Lloyd’s Doctor Faustus instead of Marlowe’s.
Haven’t seen Lloyd’s version but knowing his resumé, I bet Lloyd has gone for significant cuts, but I also trust his adaptation because he is a director who has a strong vision and knows what he wants to tell based on what he understands from the material.
This is what I would love to see from a director, a unique view on a text he or she is tackling.
Just right from the start, I can see a vision of how Mr Chow wants to play with the text. Even though it is nearly unabridged, there are adaptations here and there for Marlowe’s play to have a more contemporary voice. It is highly physical but it also tries to define the performance space with minimalistic-to-symbolic sets. The use of black, white, silver and red is striking, speaking volume spectacularly. The use of puppetry is also a real delight!
All of this, of course, can be said as nothing provocative, since it is a design that is familiar to me (I mean, the scenography is very Cloud Gate Dance Troupe inspired), but for Doctor Faustus, it gives an unusual cold feeling instead of being hellishly hot. The music actually suggests that it is a chamber piece more than a regular theatre piece, and I do think that there is something new to explore through that direction.
It is also hugely suggestive on homoeroticism but without being blunt. The relationship between Mephistopheles and Faustus is obviously on that theme, where one might suggest that Mephistopheles has a homosexual intention towards Faustus. It is ambiguous, but it is there.
It can also easily to say that this is a play about Mephistopheles instead of Faustus under Mr Chow’s direction. Mephistopheles is constantly on stage while most of the focus should be on Faustus. How Mephistopheles reacts towards Faustus is more with care than being seductive. He is also much more apologetic towards Faustus instead of being ruthless and arrogant. I have a feeling that Mephistopheles is like Salieri in Amadeus while Faustus is Mozart, which Mephistopheles’s admiration towards his prey is vivid.
I think these are all very good points of view on how to tackle Marlowe’s play, However, the execution is flawed. There are way too many blackouts without fluid transitions, as well as having a sluggish pace on line-deliveries. There are times when I feel entrapped in a very lazy mood because of those slow scene changes.
Still, I think it is worth to see this contemporary reading of Marlowe’s play, and be aware of how a classic can be read by a director. To paraphrase Mark Kermode, I would rather a director to do something interesting but doesn’t hit the mark, instead of him being safe and boring.
The actors are doing their best. I won’t say they are perfect, but each of them does profess the aura for each character. I would say that their performances, though inexperienced with verses as well as lacking cohesion in energy occasionally, are still alive. At least I was engaged with their lucid energy.
Both Chau Ka Lun and Steven Leung as Faustus and Mephistopheles respectively are standardly good. In that sense, they both also give exceptionally new presences on these long-lived characters with their young vibes. Same as for the rest of the ensemble, which nearly all of them are stand-alone good actors who give their own nature to their structured characters. The result is surprisingly engaging.
Production Information:
Faustus at Theatre, Sheung Wan Civic Centre
Performed in Cantonese, with English surtitles
Through 7th May 2017
Tickets: Theatre Horizon Website
Originally published at The Typewriter.
