Themes behind Faustus remain relevant today
Divinity: the thirst for great power and the possession of answers to life’s deepest, darkest secrets. Whether one is a believer in science or faith, sanctity is a state which people are compelled to seek.
Ridley College’s performance of “The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus” does not only illustrate the revolution from human to God, but the repercussions of such immense power.
A thought-provoking Elizabethan tragedy, Doctor Faustus was first written in the late 1580s by Christopher Marlowe. The story follows German scholar, Faustus, in his diabolic journey to acquire knowledge by selling his soul to the devil.
The intensity of the play is shocking from the start but that does not stop Ridley College from going above and beyond by incorporating musical elements. With their original rendition, the cast delivers choreography and songs with excellence as they sway and twirl from concepts of religion to corruption in order to showcase the wicked side of humanity.
On Earth, Doctor Faustus (Kibati Tomiwa Femi-Johnson) is introduced as a passionate scholar who is bored of his basic understanding of law, medicine, and theology. Choosing to pursue necromancy, he decides to give away his soul in exchange for this knowledge, which Lucifer (Laura Rosic) gladly grants him for 24 years. The complexity of each character is portrayed with finesse as Faustus grows more and more repentant and the demons grow stronger as the time draws near.
A striking addition to the cast is the Mephistophilis Legion, a haunting ensemble composed of the seven deadly sins — Wrath (Anastasia Guzenko), Pride (Jenny Zou), Gluttony (Abigail Sullivan), Sloth (Kate Zialenskaya), Greed (Georgie Murphy), Envy (Sydney Yack), and Lust (Paige Peterkin), who further developed the scenes with their portrayals of each sin using dance and expression.
Taking place in both Hell and Earth, the set contained a series of stairs for actors to maneuver around. Ridley College was clever with its use of old television sets. The projections were student-made (Ira Madil) and displayed clocks that were symbolic of inevitable doom, vermin that represented a spreading of evil, and flames depicting the burning desire for knowledge and power.
Changes in the living and damned were also effortless to identify because of the skillful use of lighting, further intensified by the flame burning on cue in the centre of the stage.
Despite minor flaws in music overshadowing vocals, the choreography was clearly well-rehearsed and the fluid motions of characters were nothing short of hypnotic. Sound cues were executed promptly and followed a carnival theme incorporated to create the parallelism between Earth and Hell.
Ridley College was able to conquer challenges which arose out of such an elaborate musical. Their use of televisions, circus music, and interpretation of an enormous cast composed of 40 talented students was impressive. “The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus” is certainly a tale to remember leaving the audience shaken from the abundance of raw emotion onstage.
The performance also leaves a question lingering: created in the 1580s, how is it that Doctor Faustus is still relevant to present day and what do his sins say about us as humans.