DOCTOR FAUSTUS

Education Pack

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Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3

SECTION 1: Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus ..................................................................................... 4

Synopsis of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus ................................................................................. 5

Marlowe’s England ................................................................................................................ 7

The A Text and B Text.......................................................................................................... 11

Some Themes in Dr Faustus ................................................................................................ 12

The Seductiveness of the Devil ....................................................................................... 12

God vs The Devil ............................................................................................................. 12

Language & Blasphemy ................................................................................................... 12

SECTION 2: The Watermill’s Doctor Faustus .......................................................................... 14

Synopsis of Doctor Faustus ................................................................................................. 15

Creating Faustus’ World ...................................................................................................... 17

The Setting ...................................................................................................................... 17

Lucifer ............................................................................................................................. 17

Faustus’ Past ................................................................................................................... 18

The Ending ...................................................................................................................... 19

Interview with Oliver Hawes ............................................................................................... 20

Interview with Jack Corcoran .............................................................................................. 22

Rehearsal Diary ................................................................................................................... 24

The Rehearsal Room in Pictures ......................................................................................... 26

The Faustus Quiz ................................................................................................................. 27

SECTION 3: Teaching Exercises ............................................................................................... 28

Character Mapping ............................................................................................................. 29

Emotional Corridor .............................................................................................................. 30

Playing Games ..................................................................................................................... 31

Quiz Answers ....................................................................................................................... 32

This Education Pack was written and designed by Beth Flintoff, with articles by Heather Snaith and Katrin Padel.

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Introduction This education pack has been designed to support your experience of seeing Doctor Faustus at The Watermill, in your school, or on tour in 2011. The pack is aimed primarily at those studying Drama or English for A Level, with a quiz and synopsis for younger students, and anyone with a curiosity about the play. We are also making a DVD to support the production, which will be available for free to schools who watch the production. The DVD will explain some of the choices made in rehearsal, as well as showing interviews with the cast. Your feedback is most welcome, please email (outreach@watermill.org.uk) or call me on 01635 570927. Don’t forget that we offer workshops on most aspects of drama, and visit many schools in the surrounding area to work with students and teachers. For a workshop menu, please visit the Outreach pages on our website, or contact me. I hope you find the pack useful. Beth Flintoff Learning & Participation Director Email: beth@watermill.org.uk | Tel: 01635 570927 The Watermill Theatre Bagnor, Newbury, Berks RG20 8AE www.watermill.org.uk

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SECTION 1: Marlowe’s

Doctor Faustus

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Synopsis of Marlowe’s

Doctor Faustus Please note: this is a synopsis of the orginal text. Our ‘version’ is the same text, but edited down. For a synopsis of our production, please go to page 15.

John Faustus is a well-respected German scholar who has become frustrated by the limits of normal scholarship. He can no longer see the point of studying medicine, or the law, or religion. Instead, he decides to learn about magic. He talks to his friends, Valdes and Cornelius, and they promise to help him. Meanwhile his servant, Wagner, tells other scholars about his new interest, and they are concerned for him.

Alone in his study, Faustus practices some of his new-found knowledge. He summons Mephistopheles, a devil, and quizzes him about the nature of hell and heaven. He tells Mephistopheles to offer Lucifer (the chief of the devils) his soul in exchange for having whatever he wants in life.

Meanwhile Wagner meets with Robin, a clown, and they mess about, summoning two devils themselves, which terrifies Robin.

Faustus feels conflicted about his decision to offer up his soul. He is visited by a Good Angel and an Evil one, who both try to persuade him to their points of view. When Mephistopheles arrives with news that Lucifer has accepted the deal, Faustus tries to cut his arm and write a contract in his own blood. But his blood congeals, confusing Faustus all the more. But eventually the deal is done: Faustus gives his soul in exchange for twenty five years of life with Mephistopheles at his command.

The first thing Faustus asks for is a wife, but Mephistopheles persuades him not to marry and to sleep with courtesans (prostitutes) instead. Meanwhile Robin steals one of Faustus’ books and decides to try his own hand at conjuring.

Faustus wonders if it is too late to repent his decision. As he tries to pray and seek forgiveness, Lucifer appears and distracts him by presenting the Seven Deadly Sins. This makes him feel better and he determines not to think of God and heaven anymore.

The third act begins with Faustus and Mephistopheles in Rome, where they play a trick on the Pope. Meanwhile Robin and Rafe play a trick on an inkeeper using magic, but Mephistopheles appears and turns them into an ape and a dog.

Faustus then visits the Emperor, who has heard of Faustus’ abilities and is keen to meet him. Faustus produces a vision of Alexander the Great and his lover, and also gets revenge on a cynical knight by putting horns on his head. As they leave, Faustus sells his horse to a horse dealer, instructing him only not to lead him into water. Moments later the horse dealer returns, complaining that, after leading him into water, the horse has disapeared altogether.

Faustus then visits the Duke of Vanholt and his pregnant wife, presenting her with grapes, even though they are not in season, which astonishes the Duke.

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At the start of the fifth act, Wagner puzzles over the fact that Faustus has given him all his possessions, and wonders if it means he is dying, while Faustus entertains his scholar friends at dinner by presenting them with an image of Helen of Troy. After the scholars have gone, an old man enters and urges Faustus to turn back to God. Faustus is distressed, and wishes he could. Mephistopheles sees him and threatens him: if Faustus repents he will be tortured. Faustus apologises and Mephistopheles distracts him again by bringing Helen of Troy back onstage.

In a frantic state, Faustus talks to the scholars and confesses he has sold his soul and that his time is nearly up. The scholars are horrified and leave him alone, promising to pray for his soul. Faustus, with one hour left to live, is appalled by what is coming and desperate to avoid his fate. Overcome by fear and remorse, he waits for the end in teror. And as the clock strikes midnight, devils take him away.

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Marlowe’s England Religion & Reformation When Doctor Faustus was written, Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne and England was officially a Protestant country. After the trauma of recent years, England was long overdue some religious stability. Elizabeth’s father, King Henry VIII had broken with the Catholic Church in Rome in order to divorce his wife and marry Anne Boleyn. This move was the inception of what would later become The Church of England. Abbeys were torn down and Catholics persecuted, only to find themselves back in favour in 1553 under the rule of Queen Mary I – who in turn burned some 300 ‘dissenters’ at the stake and earned herself the nickname “Bloody Mary”. Despite Mary’s attempts to re-establish Roman Catholicism it was not to be, and the favour of England swung to Protestantism when Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558. This turbulent period shook the foundations and fundamental doctrines of the church. It brought into question the beliefs and practices associated with salvation at the time and became known in general as ‘The Reformation’. It was during the 16th Century that the scholar William Tyndale took advantage of newly developed printing technology to circulate copies of his book The Obedience

of a Christian Man, which openly attacked the Pope and the Church, then later his infamous English translation of the Bible. Until now the bible was only ever written in Latin, and for centuries this was perceived as the only language for religious communication; hence the reason the devil is conjured Latin in Doctor Faustus. This is fine if you are an educated member of the clergy, but for an average person the language of God was completely alien. Tynedale’s English Bible was initially very much an underground thing, and a dangerous text to have in your possession. The ideas it contained were not just perceived by many as inflammatory but as fundamentally heretical. Tynedale was burnt at the stake in 1535, at the hands of the Catholic Church authority in Brussels. However, when history was ready, Tynedale’s text came into its own. In 1603 King James VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth I and became King James I of England and Ireland. In 1611 he commissioned a group of independent scholars to create the authorised ‘King James version’ of the bible. Tynedale’s New Testament (which also drew on Greek and Hebrew versions of the Bible), was considered by these scholars to be a well-balanced translation and became the basis of the finished text they created; this 1611 version of the New Testament is still in use today. Science & Exploration The Elizabethan age was a time of ever-increasing discovery and exploration. It was part of the wider period of history known as ‘The Renaissance’. The

William Tynedale

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This is believed to be a painting of Christopher Marlowe.

Renaissance was a movement which came out of Italy in 1400’s and worked its way across Europe. It embodied the spirit of free enquiry and a fashion for learning based on classical sources. Its influence spanned all areas of human endeavour: art, philosophy, politics, literature and science. The catalyst for this change may have been the fall of Constantinople in 1493. It is thought that the Byzantine scholars took refuge in Italy, bringing with them ancient knowledge and some remaining scientific texts, thereby sparking the practice of looking to the ancients for lost knowledge in Europe. Although the Elizabethan era was an age of exploration, (both literally and metaphorically), at the time that Doctor Faustus was written the boundaries between magic and science, not to mention God, were still very much blurred. The practices of what we have come to understand as science were very much in their infancy.

At this time there came a renewed interest in astronomy and astrology. Thomas Harriot, who owned the first telescope in England, discovered for himself that the moon was cratered, (along with Galileo who did the same thing!). The practice of alchemy was beginning to morph into chemistry and progressed along with our understanding of mathematics and physics. It was during this era that Leonardo Da Vinci was making his sketches and inventions, which now seem eerily ahead of their time. Enquiry into geography was vital to an ever-increasing trading economy. The advancing skill in the making of accurate maps and developments in

nautical engineering allowed many exploratory expeditions to take place, including Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe in 1588. The progress in ship building also helped Drake to battle successfully with The Spanish Armada fleet in the same year -which, incidentally, was also the year that the first fireworks display was held in England! Christopher Marlowe Born in 1564, (in the same year as Shakespeare) Christopher Marlowe led an eventful and often erratic life. He was accused on occasion of being a Catholic, a homosexual, a murderer, atheist and traitor to the Queen, and it is likely that his own murder in 1593 was linked to his previous activities as a spy in Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Marlowe came into the world during the reign of Queen Elizabeth [1558 – 1608]. His father was a Canterbury shoemaker and was not wealthy. His sisters were both ladies with “reputations,” one for her marital intrigues, the other for her outspoken blasphemy – which meant she was branded a ‘scold’ in the community. But Marlowe was lucky enough to receive a scholarship which kept him in school, and later another which saw him study at the Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University. Usually this ‘Parker’ Scholarship would groom the pupil for a

“Divinity, adieu! These metaphysics of magicians,

And necromantic books are heavenly!”

Faustus

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career as a Clergyman, but this was not to be the case for Marlowe. During his time at Cambridge there were often long periods when Marlowe was absent without explanation. The organisation became suspicious and threatened to withhold his degree - perhaps because they suspected Marlowe of having Catholic sensibilities. However, it soon became clear that there was more to Marlowe than met the eye when the Queen’s Privy Council (her advisors) wrote to the university stating ominously that he had: “Done her majesty good service... in matters touching the benefit of the country...” Some historians think that Marlowe may have been employed by the Secret Service to infiltrate Catholic communities in France, but this is not certain. What is certain, however, is that Marlowe left Cambridge with his M.A. in tow, and ventured forth to London, where he was introduced to the popular playwrights of the time and became acquainted with Thomas Kyd - the friend who would later be forced to betray him. During his time in London, Marlowe wrote seven plays, all of them popular at the time. Some of the most well known are: Tamburlaine, The Jew of Malta, Edward the Second and Doctor Faustus. As a playwright, Marlowe was pioneering in his use of blank verse, (iambic pentameter without the rhyme). This style of writing was later adopted by some of Marlowe’s contemporaries, including William Shakespeare; leading some to propose that Marlowe and Shakespeare are one and the same – although there is little evidence to support this theory and their writing styles are notably different. Doctor Faustus was probably written in 1592, a year before Marlowe’s death, but it was to be another decade before the play was published. But between the years of 1594 and 1597 The Admirals Men

performed Faustus no less than twenty five times and although the story of Faust would not a have been an unfamiliar one to the people of Elizabethan England, from the moment Marlowe’s play hit the stage it captured the imagination of its audience.

At the time a pact with the Devil was a tangible, believable possibility. One William Prynne, writing an attack on the theatre in 1632, stated that real devils had been known to appear on stage during one performance of the play, “to the great amazement of actors and audience, sending people mad with distraction at the fearful sight...” In 1589 fate began to turn for Marlowe when he was arrested on a charge of homicide after his friend, the poet, Thomas Watson had fatally stabbed another man in a fight involving Marlowe. Ultimately neither was charged, instead they were released and told to keep the peace, but three years later Marlowe was arrested again, this time for assaulting two police officers. Whatever the cause of these accusations, it seems likely that Marlowe was an outspoken and hot-headed man, who was not afraid to act on impulse. His unusual beliefs were also starting to attract the wrong kind of attention and he was earning himself a reputation as a free thinker, with loose morals and a

Painting of an Elizabethan Theatre

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Richard Baines was a police spy who had given Queen Elizabeth’s secret service a

rundown of Marlowe’s blasphemous opinions, quoting him as having said:

“That the first beginning of religion was only to keep men in awe... That Christ

was a bastard and his mother dishonest... that all the New Testament

is filthily written.”

blasphemous outlook - not a good stance at a time when Elizabethans were trying to uphold the sanctity of the Protestant church. By 1593 Marlowe was under investigation for atheism and treason. His playwright friend Thomas Kyd had been arrested and, under torture, had given a statement to the Lord Keeper, Sir John Puckering, accusing Marlowe of heresy and blasphemy. A warrant for Marlow’s arrest was issued, but before it could be carried out Christopher Marlowe was dead - apparently killed in a brawl at a Tavern in Deptford, London. The story goes that Marlowe had spent the afternoon in the company of three gentlemen, but in the evening a row broke out over who should pay the bill. Marlowe drew a dagger and wounded one of the men (Ingram Frizar), who then snatched the blade and stabbed Marlowe over the eye - killing him instantly. This is the coroner’s version of events, but the man who stabbed Marlowe, and at least one of the other gentlemen, is known to have had connections with the secret service. It seems likely that Marlowe’s previous career as a spy had come back to haunt him. Frizar was granted a free pardon for the murder just one month later on grounds of self defence, whilst Marlowe, aged 29, was buried in an unmarked grave.

Doctor Faustus Throughout the play, the thirst for forbidden knowledge is a continuing theme. Faustus wants more and is frustrated by the limits of what science and human knowledge can offer. He tells Valdes: “Philosophy is odious and obscure; Both law and physic are for petty wits; Divinity is basest of the three, Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible and vile”. [I.i.108-111] Ultimately it is Faustus’ desire for knowledge and pleasure which leads him to align himself with the devil. And it is tempting to draw parallels between this aspect of Faustus’ character and the experience of Marlowe’s own life, who was himself a member of a group of intellectual ‘free thinkers,’ who epitomised the Renaissance spirit and quest for knowledge without bounds. These symbolic parallels are stark when we consider that Marlowe may well have paid for his outlook with his life, just as Faustus is condemned to an eternity in Hell for his desire for power and another kind of knowledge. “Ugly hell gape not! Come not, Lucifer! I’ll burn my books!” [V.ii.114-5] However you view his life, it seems certain that Marlowe was a square peg in the round hole that was Elizabethan England, or as Shakespeare more eloquently puts it in his As You Like It homage to Marlowe: “A great reckoning in a little room.” HEATHER SNAITH

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The A Text and B Text There are two versions of Doctor Faustus, and they are quite different to each other. Over time they have come to be called the ‘A-Text’ and the ‘B-Text’. The A-Text (1604) This is much shorter than the B-text, though it does include a few passages that the B-text doesn’t have. Most academics think of the A-text as the more ‘official’ version of the play: meaning that they think it is what Marlowe actually wrote. There are a number of inconsistencies that suggest it was Marlowe’s working draft, and the manuscript had errors or unclear writing, which the printer mistakenly interpreted. For instance, at the end of Act 3 Scene 2, Mephistopheles enters twice, without exiting. The B-Text (1616) The B-text has nearly 700 lines more than the A-text, including several scenes and characters that do not appear in the other text. It’s been the source of some controversy, with some scholars suggesting that the B-Text is the ‘proper’ version, and the A-text is a version put together from memory, which would explain the missing scenes. But most academics now think that the B-text was a version of the play that had been extensively revised after Marlowe’s death, with additions that are not from Marlowe himself. In our version of Doctor Faustus, we have predominantly used the A-text, with a few adjustments from the B-text where it seems to make it clearer for our audience.

The title page of the 1620 edition of the ‘B’ text of Doctor Faustus, first published in 1616: The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. The text is now in the British Library.

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Some Themes in Dr

Faustus The Seductiveness of the Devil

The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of

Heaven. What matter where, if I be still the same, And what should I be, all but less than he Whom thunder hath made greater? Here

at least / We shall be free ... Better to reign in Hell than serve in

Heaven.’

Satan in Paradise Lost by John Milton Book I, lines 254 – 263

I first read Doctor Faustus at university, in the same term as reading John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost. Mentally I filed the two texts in the same box: a box labelled ‘The Devil On A Good Day’. In Milton’s poem many readers consider Satan to be the most appealing character – in fact the poet Shelley said that Milton was ‘of the Devil’s party without knowing it’. The literary devil always seems to be a lot more appealing than he ought to be: not just because sometimes it’s fun to be a bit naughty, but because his language has emotional depth, his actions seem profound, and his solid, robust, earthy presence is rather reassuring. I felt that this shed a lot of light on Faustus’ problem: Mephistopheles isn’t some horned monster, he’s charismatic, thoughtful, and entertaining.

God vs The Devil So, left to make a choice between the devil and God, Faustus goes for the team

that seems to care a lot more about his decision. The God in Faustus’ world doesn’t bother to help him much, despite being happy to condemn him when he gets it wrong. There’s a sporadic Good Angel and a spiritual Old Man, but these are stock characters, uninteresting and unconvincing. Meanwhile Lucifer makes a personal and compelling visit to convince him he’s made the right decision. Elsewhere it seems to me that there is a confusing parity between Lucifer and God. Both Lucifer and God threaten and bribe Faustus with the same consequences, and Lucifer tells him ‘There’s none but I have int’rest in the same’ – a promise that Christianity asserts to come from God. The result is a sort of switch: ‘God’ means to Faustus what most people mean by ‘the Devil’. ‘These necromantic books are heavenly,’ he says. Linguistically, he has begun to treat hell and heaven as completely interchangeable.

Language & Blasphemy This linguistic confusion causes all sorts of problems in the play. One of the chief accusations levelled at Faustus is blasphemy. The notion of blasphemy implies a connection between a name and what it signifies, but if vocabulary is confused and interchangeable then the concept itself collapses. How can you blaspheme if the meaning of words is shifting? And as soon as language becomes unreliable, Faustus’ world becomes confusing: does it matter what he says, if he can repent it later on?

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Language has become unreliable – an unsettling situation in a play. All the supernatural characters seem to have a questionable integrity. Who can we believe? We are left, of course, with Faustus. He has plenty of thoughts, but untrustworthiness isn’t really one of them as far as the audience is concerned. He swings back and forth in his opinions, but at least he tells us honestly about them. A stream of thoughts come spilling out of his mouth in beautiful, passionate speeches. He becomes, linguistically, a genuine hero. BETH FLINTOFF

Top: Jack Corcoran (Faustus) Bottom: Olly Hawes (Mephistopheles) in rehearsal

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SECTION 2:The

Watermill’s Doctor

Faustus

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Synopsis of Doctor

Faustus Please note: this is a synopsis of our version, which is the same original text but edited down. The original Marlowe text is longer: for a full synopsis please go to page 5.

SPOILER ALERT! This piece explains how we have created ‘hell’ at the end, which is (hopefully!) a bit of an unexpected twist.

John Faustus lives alone in a shabby bedsit. When he enters the room, the radio starts of its own accord, which distresses him, but he appears to forget about it. He decides to learn about magic instead of traditional academic subjects. He talks to his friend, Valdes who promises to help him. Faustus gets very excited about the things he’ll be able to do when he is powerful.

In the middle of the night, Faustus wakes up and decides to practice some of his new-found knowledge. He summons Mephistopheles, a mysterious man in a smart suit. He tells Mephistopheles to offer Lucifer (the chief of the devils) his soul in exchange for having whatever he wants in life.

After Mephistopheles has gone, Faustus is relieved their conversation has gone so well, but niggling doubts remain about whether or not he’s doing the right thing. When Mephistopheles arrives with news that Lucifer has accepted the deal, Faustus tries to cut his arm and write a contract in his own blood. But his blood congeals, confusing Faustus all the more. But eventually the deal is done: Faustus gives his soul in exchange for twenty five years of life with Mephistopheles at his command.

Mephistopheles opens the champagne and they start to celebrate. Delighted, Faustus picks up a photograph of his wife, who has died, and asks Mephistopheles to

get her back. Mephistopheles refuses, promising other women instead. Faustus is distraught and wonders if it is too late to repent his decision. As he tries to pray and seek forgiveness, Lucifer appears and distracts him by presenting the Seven Deadly Sins. This makes him feel better and he determines not to think of God and heaven anymore.

Mephistopheles tells Faustus that he is in Rome, and Faustus, who has been drinking heavily, believes him. They play a trick on the ‘Pope’ and then Faustus believes he is meeting the Emperor (who is actually Mephistopheles). At the end of this Faustus starts to get upset again when he thinks about his wife and his lost happiness, so Mephistopheles pretends to be a Duke who is delighted with Faustus. The ‘Duke’ asks Faustus to produce Helen of Troy, and Faustus uses his wife’s headscarf to dress up an audience member, prompting more grief as he becomes increasingly confused.

Left alone onstage, Faustus, decides he has made a mistake and will kill himself in the act of repentance, ensuring his place in heaven. Mephistopheles interrupts him, and they have a terrible fight. Afterwards Faustus apologises and begs Mephistopheles to get ‘Helen’ back.

Mephistopheles now puts Faustus’ wife’s headscarf on his own head. Faustus, troubled and bewildered, talks to ‘her’ and tells her his fears and the deal he has

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made with Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles finally takes off the headscarf and leaves.

Faustus, left alone with one hour left to live, is appalled by what is coming and desperate to avoid his fate. Overcome by fear and remorse, he waits for the end in teror. And as the clock strikes midnight, he hides, but nothing happens. Astonished and relieved, he starts to celebrate, until a knock at the door makes him go outside. When he enters, everything is exactly as it was at the beginning of the play. The radio starts, as it did at the beginning, and Faustus tries to switch it off. He realises he is stuck in a loop and will have to go through the whole process again. He ends with his first line: ‘Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin’.

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Creating Faustus’ World Dr Faustus is the sort of play you could study for years and still be coming up with different academic interpretations, but in the rehearsal room, we needed to focus on the practical business of character and storytelling.

The Setting In order to edit the play down to 75 minutes, I first typed out the whole thing on my computer. It was a great way to experience the language first hand: a particularly long speech or section becomes a lot more significant. And I wanted the text to be paramount, not my own version of events. My job was simply to try and make it meaningful within the constraints that we had. My first thought was that we would need to locate the action in a more contemporary world. I wanted the audience to completely relate to the choice that faces Faustus at the beginning. In practical terms, Faustus has got to feel like a real person, with a past and a future. So his study becomes a shabby bedsit. His academic achievements become more like a librarian’s secret yearnings: in our version, Faustus starts out lonely, poor, and bitter. The opening of the play establishes the dreariness of his life and his seedy friendship with Valdes. When Mephistopheles enters, the audience breathes a sigh of relief along with Faustus: here at last is someone dynamic and confident, who can sort him out. Our production had very specific constraints: just two actors, and a simple set. Obviously we couldn’t have hordes of

devils larking about, nor opt for any kind of realistic representation of the different locations. So Faustus’ twenty five years of pleasure becomes an evening of substance-induced fantasy, encouraged and manipulated by Mephistopheles and Lucifer. Faustus does indeed think he’s having a great time, but it only lasts about 45 minutes. And to the audience, the fun he’s having seems rather humiliating, almost masochistic.

Lucifer At the time when I was working on the script, the news on the radio was almost entirely about the British economy. The way of talking about bankers bonuses in particular seems to have adopted an overtly religious tone. During our first week of rehearsals (10th January 2011) Bob Diamond, the CEO of Barclays, was asked by a politician why it was ‘easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God’. Mr Diamond seemed not to have the answer – and indeed, why would he? In all the talk about bonuses it seems to be taken for granted that the bank staff are driven solely by money. We have made a pact with the devil indeed, if this is the case. It’s a rather seductive world, where traits that might have once been considered flaws are welcomed and encouraged. I thought that Lucifer would enjoy all this very much, and so he naturally morphed into a wealthy, highly educated, voice of entitlement: quietly but supremely confident, calmly and reasonably nurturing man’s latent tendencies towards greed and hedonism.

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Faustus’ Past I wanted to create the sense that Faustus had a previous life, which was now lost to him. This became embodied in a photograph of his dead wife, which in rehearsal became of paramount importance. In general I didn’t want to

change the text, only edit it, and certainly had no illusions that I might be able to ‘improve’ it. But this was the one consciously important change to the words: Faustus’ line ‘let me have a wife’ became ‘let me have my wife’.

Here’s the original: And here’s our version:

MEPHISTOPHELES But, Faustus, I am an instance to prove the contrary,

For I am damnéd and am now in hell. FAUSTUS How? Now in hell? Nay, an this be hell, I’ll

willingly be damned here. What? Walking, disputing, etc? But leaving off this, let me have a wife, the fairest maid in Germany, for I am wanton and lascivious and cannot live without a wife.

MEPHISTOPHELES How, a wife? I prithee, Faustus, talk not of

a wife. FAUSTUS Nay, sweet Mephistopheles, fetch me

one, for I will have one. MEPHISTOPHELES Well, thou wilt have one. Sit there till I

come. I’ll fetch thee a wife, in the devil’s name.

Enter with a Devil dressed like a woman, with fireworks

Tell, Faustus, how dost thou like thy wife?

FAUSTUS A plague on her for a hot whore! MEPHISTOPHELES Tut, Faustus, marriage is but a ceremonial

toy. If thou lovest me, think no more of it. I’ll cull thee out the fairest courtesans

And bring them ev’ry morning to thy bed.

MEPHISTOPHELES But, Faustus, I am an instance to prove the contrary, For I am damnéd and am now in hell.

FAUSTUS How? Now in hell? Nay, an this be hell, I’ll willingly be damned here. What? Walking, disputing, etc?

[[Very happy, he goes to the photograph of the woman and shows it to Mephistopheles]

BBut leaving off this, let me have my wife, the fairest maid in Germany, for I cannot live without my wife.

MEPHISTOPHELES How, a wife? I prithee, Faustus, talk not

of a wife. FAUSTUS Nay, sweet Mephistopheles, fetch me

her, for I will have her. MEPHISTOPHELES Well, thou wilt have one. Sit there till I

come. I’ll fetch thee a wife, in the devil’s name.

[He collects a (male) audience member

and plonks a blonde wig on his head] Tell, Faustus, how dost thou like thy wife? FAUSTUS A plague on her! MEPHISTOPHELES Tut, Faustus, marriage is but a ceremonial

toy. If thou lovest me, think no more of it.

[Earliest signs of despair in Faustus. He sits. Pause. Mephistopheles takes a bottle of pills out of his pocket, gives two to him. Faustus swallows them with the whisky in his glass.] I’ll cull thee out the fairest courtesans And bring them ev’ry morning to thy bed.

In rehearsal this became a key moment in the plot: Faustus has made the deal not just because he wants to achieve wonderful acclaim, but also because he has a few very personal and particular plans for himself: among them that he won’t be lonely anymore. But Mephistopheles is relying on Faustus’ isolation and refuses to help. This spurs an outpouring of regret and anger from Faustus, until Mephistopheles has to leave him alone and send for reinforcements in the form of his boss, Lucifer.

The Ending It’s impossible to work on this play without asking some big questions: among them ‘what is hell?’ For an hour we have watched Faustus as a grieving widower, lonely, arrogant, addicted to alcohol, bitter and easily manipulated into making a fool of himself. It seemed to me that the worst thing would be for him to have to go through it again. So our vision of hell is an Elizabethan rendering of Groundhog Day, in which a misguided young man is trapped in a cycle of loss. I’m not sure if Mephistopheles actually ‘exists’ in this world, perhaps Faustus is simply stuck in his own mind. I’m not even sure that he hasn’t imagined the whole thing. I think that’s up to the audience to decide. After all, as Milton knew only too well, ‘The mind is its own place, and in itself / Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.’

BETH FLINTOFF

Faustus (Jack Corcoran) contemplates the photograph of his wife.

Beth Flintoff

Lucifer (Oliver Hawes) and Faustus (Jack Corcoran). Lucifer was able to control Faustus – and the lighting – by clicking his fingers.

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Interview with Oliver

Hawes Heather Snaith caught up with Olly Hawes, who plays Mephistopheles, in a break in rehearsals. When you’re confronted with a classical text like this one, where do you begin? How do you start? I believe the text only starts to make sense when you hear it out loud, and then it makes even more sense when you’re embodying characters and you start acting. Which really supports the idea that this is a language to be acted, and there’s only so much you can get from sitting down and reading it. So I read it and I try to get the idea of the story, I might try to notice patterns, if a certain character repeats a word or uses a certain rhythm. I try to notice what the characters say about one another. I think it’s important to give yourself time to think about it, to let things marinade after rehearsals! What’s Mephistopheles’ overall goal in the play – what’s he trying to do? The way we’ve been playing Mephistopheles is that he’s simply there to get the job done. Faustus isn’t one of the bigger fish to fry, he ‘s just a businessman who keeps his side of the deal, so he gives Faustus a good time, but essentially he’s just there to wrap up an evening’s work. What does Mephistopheles think of Faustus? In our version, I don’t think he has much respect for Faustus. I don’t think he particularly likes him, but Faustus does have the kind of personality that Mephistopheles can enjoy manipulating. So it’s a game? Well I’m still formulating ideas about him, but I think he enjoys himself. Does he feel

sorry for Faustus? No! There’s no empathy. How do you think Mephistopheles has ended up in hell? The story is that he was in heaven with Lucifer initially and he fell as a result of being on Lucifer’s side when Lucifer fell. So he was an angel, but for some reason chose to align himself with Lucifer as opposed to God. He says in the play that he is an ‘unhappy spirit’ who fell with Lucifer, conspired against God with Lucifer, and as a result is now damned forever with Lucifer. Do you think he would go back to Heaven if he could? Yes, I do. Although I think he enjoys his work! In the play we don’t see Hell, we only see people being tempted into hell, so we only ever really see Mephistopheles when he’s at work, and not being tortured, or whatever. Having said that, there are lots of lines that suggest he thinks he’s in hell all the time, so Faustus’ room is hell. If he had the chance to go back to Heaven I think he would. Do you have a favourite line in the play? Yes – it’s a nine beat line *most lines have ten ‘beats’], which is really important: ‘And where hell is must we ever be’. Do you think that there’s a real danger that Faustus will change his mind and repent? Absolutely, which is why, towards the end of the play, Mephistopheles is forced to be violent. Up until that point he manipulates him linguistically.

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How is this play still relevant to a modern audience? I think the major problem for a modern audience is that, for most people, religion doesn’t have quite such a controlling element over their lives anymore, and those who are religious have a different conception of heaven and hell. However, I think the reason that Marlowe and Shakespeare plays have endured is that they have universal themes that we can all identify with – we all understand the idea of temptation, and the idea of trading something off – doing something we probably shouldn’t do to get short term gain. What’s great about it for a modern audience is that this goes to the absolute extreme, and so it requires an audience to use their imagination, which I think is a really good thing for any play.

Mephistopheles helping Faustus have a good time.

Mephistopheles takes Faustus to ‘Rome’.

Rehearsing the fight between Mephistopheles and Faustus.

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Interview with Jack

Corcoran Jack Corcoran, who plays Faustus, talked to Heather Snaith about his role. How are rehearsals going so far? [Touching wood+ It’s going alright! We’re exactly half way through the rehearsal period and making good time so far. We’ve got through it so we know the shape of it, and we just have to put in more detail. What was the first thing you did when approaching this text? At first I needed to really make sure that I understood what I was saying. So when I first got the script in the post that was what I started working on. I performed in Faustus many years ago, playing a different role, and so I was familiar with the text. But it was very interesting to see Beth’s cut of the text, and the choices that she’d made, and it really appealed to me. I read it a few times on my own and identified the places where I wasn’t sure what it meant. Once we got into rehearsal Beth was very thorough with the text, paying attention to the rhythm and the metre, as much as the meaning, which has really helped to make it much clearer. Why does Faustus decide to sell his soul to the devil? Because he is utterly bereft. In our version, he’s caught in a cycle of grief and loss - the loss of his wife. It’s prompted him at first to seek comfort in the Church and God, but because he’s an academic he’s studied the scriptures and found things that are distasteful to him. He’s discovered a God that is judgmental and exclusive, without negotiation. It seems totally unfair. And God represents to him the opposite of what he thought God should be, so he’s attracted by what the

devil has to offer – freedom and knowledge and information. The concept of searching for knowledge seems to be very important in this play? Having absolute authority has allowed the Christian Church to amass untold riches and incredible power, and any questioning of that threatens it. So an interest in acquiring knowledge was viewed with suspicion. How does working on Marlowe differ to working on Shakespeare? Are there any stylistic differences? I think Shakespeare is much stronger with plot and narrative arcs. Both Shakespeare and Marlowe deal in big themes. But Faustus is really a meditation on a big theme, and less about the plot. There are peaks and troughs in the story, but given that Faustus is offered these extraordinary powers he doesn’t do very much with them. Before he has the power, he talks about becoming the emperor of the world. But once he has the power, he uses the powers to magically produce some grapes for a duke! He becomes a kind of show pony. And the power is a bit of a red herring – all he’s really interested in is trying to discover some truths about the world. Do you think this play is relevant to a modern audience? Yes I do. The notion of choice is important. Your choices have a profound effect on both your life and the lives of others. We live in a global society now with access to 24 hour news, the connectedness of things is more

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apparent. There’s always a story about decisions behind people’s choices. And we are a secular society now, but I think we’re only two steps from religion. People who are grieving, for instance, often become invested in religion to lift them from their grief. Look at the extraordinary public reaction to Princess Diana’s death, for example – she was almost deified. I think our belief in god or the forces of ‘other’ are always around the corner. Why does Faustus trust Mephistopheles in the first place? Mephistopheles is very attractive to Faustus because he represents everything that Faustus isn’t but aspires to be. Mephistopheles has social grace, an ease with which to conduct himself, and seemingly unlimited access to knowledge. But also Mephistopheles seems attainable: Faustus can imagine himself possibly being like him one day – this comes from when Mephistopheles talks

about being denied the joys of heaven. He says hell is everywhere and Faustus finds this a difficult concept to grasp because it contradicts everything he has been taught. So Faustus scoffs at him and says he doesn’t believe it, and Mephistopheles chides him and talks about hell, which seems like a chink in his armour. Up until then Mephistopheles has been very smooth and urbane and unflappable. So Faustus thinks he sees a little bit of pain and suffering in Mephistopheles that makes him more of a kindred spirit. It’s something he can relate to. Faustus seems to swing between conviction and repentance – what makes him do this? He’s not a very black and white person: he finds it difficult to stay focussed because he likes to think about everything. I personally agonise over all my own decision as well – buying a washing machine is an enormous job for me! – so I can understand the flip-flopping that he does. This is what makes him a good candidate for damnation! What’s Faustus’ worst fear? He has a fear of being alone, even though he’s happy in his own company. I think he feels the absence of anything else. And in our version he has a fear of life without any trace of his wife: he relies on his memories and relics of her, the photograph and her headscarf. He also has a fear of the ignorant taking over the world. He’s worried about everything being reduced to the mundane, with people not making any attempt to pursue intelligence or creativity. I think the X Factor would be Faustus’ worst nightmare.

Faustus (Jack Corcoran) and Mephistopheles (Olly Hawes) in rehearsal.

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Rehearsal Diary

Katrin Padel, a sixth form student at Kennet School, was selected for a work experience placement at The Watermill, assisting with rehearsals. She joined the rehearsal room at the start of the second week.

‘When I saw that there was a possibility for a work experience placement during the rehearsal process for Dr Faustus at The Watermill, I felt that there was nothing to be lost by applying, and I would have an exciting experience if I succeed. I wasn’t disappointed.

‘Unsurprisingly, the difference between a professional rehearsal process and the rehearsals I have experienced before was striking. Starting with the games on Monday morning, the actors were committed and confidently threw themselves into experimenting. The exercise, which involved picking up props from the room and finding each one more intensely emotional, served multiple purposes. Not only did it allow the actors to focus on beginning work, it also gave them the opportunity to explore the huge number of props on set and set up the difference between Mephistopheles‘ confidence (Olly had to find each object more exciting) and Faustus’ journey into becoming a nervous wreck (Jack’s aim was

to become progressively more anxious about each object).

‘The rehearsal moved quickly on, and Beth’s directing meant that the piece developed very organically. The actors provided an initial suggestion as to where they felt the characters would be in that situation, and Beth suggested changes in those places where the intentions didn’t quite read to an outside observer. There was a strong sense of acceptance, when suggested changes didn’t work. My drama teacher has often said to me that you need to be willing to ‘kill your babies’, and I saw that here time and time again. It Beth’s initial edit, there is one section where Faustus is taken on a journey by Mephistopheles and the group began to experiment with Olly using the props to create mountains and stepping stones in the space. While the free-standing idea worked well, it didn’t fit into the emotional story of the two adjacent scenes, and the whole scene was rejected without fuss for the good of continuity.

The afternoon was watched by a group of A-Level students and allowed Beth and the cast to experiment with their ideas about audience participation (the students found their teacher whirling around in a blond wig hilarious, and needed a considerable space to get back into the emotion – which Beth duly noted once they had left). The structure of rehearsal changed, by its very nature more focused on audience perception, so Beth left them space to ask questions, which provided a clear indication of what they understood of the overall concept.

‘Aside from rehearsing the scenes, there were other methods used to improve the performance. On Tuesday, the characters

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of Mephistopheles and Valdes were hot-seated, and, especially with Mephistopheles, it was interesting to see the difference between what he said and what you thought he was actually thinking. Unfortunately, I missed the hot seating of Faustus and Lucifer as normal life got in the way (Maths exam...).

‘Despite the many highlights of rehearsals, there were low points as well. On Thursday afternoon, the tiredness was setting in, and the hard work of the week could be seen on everybody’s faces. Olly began to lose a handle on the props, dropping the lid of the pills more regularly than he was happy with and the pope ended up with empty air instead of a plate of cake more than once. Luckily, Beth took this all in her stride and broke for 10 minutes break and a much needed

cup of tea - and everyone returned feeling much refreshed.

‘Finally, on Friday I saw the whole piece run for the first time. Although there is still work to do it seems that all the ideas come together and are evident on stage. With the actors off script I think the show will become an excellent piece of theatre, especially considering the challenges of only having two actors and a small budget. I eagerly await the reaction of the audience when I travel with the company on a day of tour.

‘Despite the intensity of rehearsals, these first days I have spent in rehearsals have confirmed two things in my mind – that a career in the arts would be immensely fulfilling and that I still have so much to learn. ‘

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The Rehearsal Room in

Pictures

The not-very-glamorous rehearsal room: Faustus (Jack Corcoran) reaches up to God.

‘Christ did call the thief upon the cross’ Faustus (Jack Corcoran) seeks reassurance from Mephistopheles (Oliver Hawes).

Faustus (Jack Corcoran) contemplates suicide - with a butter knife!

Olly Hawes (Mephistopheles)

Jack Corcoran (Faustus)

Beth Flintoff

The Faustus Quiz How much did you spot during the production? What are the strange things about Faustus’ room? Circle them as you spot them – but beware as some in this list are red herrings! a) There is a pile of teaspoons on the

table b) The flowers move around c) The lamp doesn’t work d) The radio comes on of its own

accord e) Faustus’ mirror is broken f) There is a helmet under the table g) The contents of the cabinet

change without Faustus touching them

What do Valdes and Faustus have for their dinner?

a) Roast Chicken b) Baked Beans from the can c) Toast

What colour is Mephistopheles’ champagne?

a) White b) Red c) Black

What’s the first thing Mephistopheles does for Faustus?

a) Gives him his jacket and some jewelry to wear

b) Gives him lots of money c) Makes him dinner

Which of these is NOT one of the seven deadly sins?

a) Envy b) Theft c) Pride

What does the Emperor ask Faustus to do?

a) Produce Alexander the Great and his wife

b) Produce Helen of Troy c) Produce the Pope

What does the Duke ask Faustus to do?

a) Teach him to dance b) Give him some grapes c) Take him to France

Do you think Faustus was right to give his soul to Mephistopheles?

YES NO

Why? ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................ Have you ever done something you’ve regretted? What did you do to make things better? ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................ [Answers on page 32]

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SECTION 3: Teaching

Exercises

PLEASE NOTE:

These exercises are designed, chiefly, for English teachers who are interested in using drama games to enhance their teaching. They may, however, be of use to anyone interested in

getting students engaged in any text.

The Watermill regularly provides workshops and INSET training packages for English and Drama departments.

if you’d like to know more, please contact Beth Flintoff on 01635 570927.

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Character Mapping The whole room becomes the ‘heart’ of the play. Put Faustus, played by a student, in the centre of the room. Add the other characters one by one into the space. They should stand near or far away from the central character and the other characters, depending on how they feel about them. Start off with the positions for the beginning of the play. Then move to key moments in the play and ask them if they want to move. There may be some conflicts, for example if one charcter likes the other but the feeling is not reciprocated. Points:

1. You can hopefully use all the students if you use every character in the play, including the servants.

2. This exercise makes for a gentle way into hotseating. You can ask them individually why they’re standing where they are, and how they are feeling about other characters.

3. If they don’t know the plot of the play very well, this can be an interactive way into them finding out the story. Tell them the main points of the story and ask them how they’re feeling now that this new development has happened. They can move in response to what you tell them.

4. Alternatively, this can be a more advanced character exercise. ‘Cast’ the students in advance, and get them to write down quotes demonstrating how their character feels about other characters at key plot moments. Then, when they are moving around the character map, they can back up their new position with their quotations.

FOLLOW UP EXERCISES

1. DIARY: Imagine you’re the character you played in the mapping exercise, and write a diary, with entries for each key moment.

2. FREEZE FRAMES: This is a natural way into ‘sculpting’ frozen pictures of key moments in the play, e.g. Hamlet listening to Claudius’ prayers.

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Emotional Corridor The students line up in two rows, facing each other. Give each student about half a line to say, perhaps an oath or a curse, from the play. It’s fine to use each curse two or three times if you don’t have enough. Get them to repeat it a few times to the person opposite them, all at the same time, using lots of anger and venom. Then, one by one, each student walks down the line, with everyone repeatedly saying their curse at the person walking. Afterwards, discuss how it feels to be the object of such dislike. This exercise is particularly useful for invoking empathy in students. Although you might want to start with something straightforward like curses, you can also move into more complex emotions for any play(this exercise is very useful for encouraging students to empathise with Shylock, for example). It can also be used to examine awkward relationships: for example, if you’re working on Hamlet, you could fill the ‘corridoor’ with some of the many conflicting things that Hamlet says to Ophelia during the course of the play. Then ask the boys in the class to say them, while the girls take it in turns to walk through (or vice versa, of course!). Afterwards, each group can discuss how they felt, either repeating such things, or hearing them.

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Playing Games During rehearsals for Dr Faustus we used a variety of games to help the actors achieve the emotional highs and lows needed.

The ‘Yes’ Game The actor walks around the set, picking up objects. To begin with, he holds the object with a pleasing sense of mild approval. He tells us what he likes about the object – its feel, smell, purpose, or whatever. His pleasure increases with each object, until each item produces wild elation. There are any number of varieties of this game: Jack Corcoran (playing Faustus) also tried ‘Fear’ and ‘Anger’.

The Object Game As our set was prop-heavy, we played a lot of games to get the actors feeling comfortable and confident with the props. For this game, the actor simply plays with a particular object. To begin with he can explore how it feels, then gradually it can become different things, either completely realistic or surreal. For example, a teaspoon became a hairbrush, a mirror, a sterilised needle, a razor, and a tiny person walking along the floor.

The Bomb in the Room The actor is told that he has two minutes to find a bomb in the room. As the seconds count down, he becomes increasingly frantic, until probably finding somewhere to hide during the final seconds. The tension experienced can then be transferred to the scene. This was particularly helpful for finding the energy in Faustus’ ‘final hour’ speech.

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Quiz AnswersWhat are the strange things about Faustus’ room? Circle them as you spot them – but beware as some in this list are red herrings! h) There is a pile of teaspoons on the

table i) The flowers move around j) The lamp doesn’t work k) The radio comes on of its own

accord l) Faustus’ mirror is broken m) There is a helmet under the table n) The contents of the cabinet

change without Faustus touching them

o) What do Valdes and Faustus have for their dinner?

d) Roast Chicken e) Baked Beans from the can f) Toast

What colour is Mephistopheles’ champagne?

d) White e) Red f) Black

What’s the first thing Mephistopheles does for Faustus?

d) Gives him his jacket and some jewelry to wear

e) Gives him lots of money f) Makes him dinner

Which of these is NOT one of the seven deadly sins?

d) Envy e) Theft f) Pride

What does the Emperor ask Faustus to do?

d) Produce Alexander the Great and his wife

e) Produce Helen of Troy f) Produce the Pope

What does the Duke ask Faustus to do?

d) Teach him to dance e) Give him some grapes f) Take him to France