DOCTOR FAUSTUS

Director's Notes

“’Tis magic, magic, that hath ravished me.”

THE PRODUCTION

The Loft Theatre Company is blessed by having an abundance of supremely talented designers, composers, and movement directors, so my starting point for this production was to find a play that would give their imaginations free rein. Doctor Faustus is that play. At our first meeting, I said to the creative team – if there are any crazy ideas you have always wanted to bring to the Loft, this is the show for them! I am thrilled with the world they have created, full of amazing movement, music, lighting, sound, costumes, projections, scenery, and even pyrotechnics. Our excellent cast have thrown themselves into this world with great energy and inventiveness. 

THE PLAY

The Faust legend is a very old one and has been adapted in many forms over the centuries. In the 1590s, Christopher Marlowe wrote his version – The tragical history of the life and death of Doctor Faustus. In the basic plot of this great play, Faustus sells his soul to Lucifer in exchange for twenty-four years of life during which Mephistopheles will serve him and grant him his every wish. Faustus uses, or perhaps wastes, this opportunity “in pleasure and in dalliance” and living in “all voluptuousness”. He travels around the courts of Europe before returning home at the end of his twenty-four years and is eventually taken to hell. 

THE TEXT

Marlowe left behind two versions of the play, and there has been extensive scholarly debate about which was his preferred one. My adaptation is closer to the version published in 1604 but does include some text from the 1619 published version. I have also slimmed the text somewhat to allow time and space for the creative team to push the boundaries of what we can do in our wonderful theatre.

David Fletcher

June 2025