Time to see the Doctor: 11 March 2005 - Doctor Faustus (Rosemary Branch Theatre)

Marlowe's drama of devilish temptation has been torturing schoolchildren and tantalising adults for years. Though a difficult read and a tough syllabus text, the tale of Dr Faustus's pact against God makes effortless viewing. Packed with lively spectres and prophetic speeches, this production is no exception.

It all begins with the famous doctor struggling to stay interested in his studies. When the devil offers him worldly delights in return for his soul, he's bored enough to accept. His taste for magic and a wicked set piece about the deadly sins is enough to win him over - until death looms and the possibility of purgatory begins to looks unavoidable. What follows is a hurtle towards the inevitable, complete with horrors and much lamentation.

David Evan Rees directs a low budget show with care and precision. Despite Ralf Collie's slightly suspect accent as Faustus himself, the cast have a spooky complicity which is eerily apt. Forever metamorphosing from virtuous beauties to damning spirits, they capture the slippery nature of our hero's moral predicament. Tessa Hatts is particularly good in an array of cameo roles and Julia Taudevin doubles delightfully in Mephistophiles' various guises.

Though the script lacks the muscle of Goethe's later adaptation, its poetry ignites the Rosemary Branch Theatre's small stage. Part spectacle, part meditation, the play comes to life through the performances of all involved. Heightened but never hammy, these 75 minutes are far from dull. Any poor soul revising for an exam on the subject would be well advised to see this production.


© Hampstead & Highgate Express 2005 (Helena Thompson)