Faustus: That Damned Woman (NHB Modern Plays) (Nick Hern)

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Inspired by a human connection with the four elements, Good Teeth design team have created a timeless setting. With tree roots bursting from the ceiling, as if under the earth, this could be hell. As Mephistopheles states in Marlowe’s interpretation ‘all places shall be hell, that are not heaven’. Dripping water, flaming walls, at any time we could be by a river, in a mansion, on the heath, but never far away from the eternal presence of hell and Mephistopheles. As part of the deal, Lucifer leaves Mephistopholes as his agent, or Johanna’s PA depending on interpretation. The part of Mephistopholes is played in turn by each of the supporting cast, with each of them adding a subtle layer of depth of intrigue to the character. This does help to lighten proceedings and shine a light on the talented cast who, along with the deliciously darkadelic stage design, are the strong points of the production.

Sweeney is a continuous presence on stage and gives a high intensity performance with only a brief moment off stage in this two-hour play. Their characterisation is perfect for the pacing of this piece of theatre which delves into trauma and abuse.Francesca explains. “They’re like women who tried but have been persecuted. So, they’re there, existing on stage, willing the next woman to do it, which is the actress playing Faustus that night. Jodie McNee is magnificent as Johanna, determined that “no man shall stand dominion over me” – not even the devil. She reduces Satan’s right-hand man, Mephistopheles, to little more than her assistant as she goes on her physical and personal journey to understand women’s potential. Danny Lee Wynter is amusingly foppish as her diabolical companion, part of a strong ensemble cast playing multiple parts. Emmanuella Cole ( pictured above with Danny Lee Wynter)and Alicia Charles are excellent in multiple roles, while Danny Lee Wynter makes for a delightfully flamboyant Mephistopheles – gestures are emphasised by his overlong sleeves, and he gives his devilish figure a silky insouciance (a doctor abusing young women is, he sighs, merely “tedious”). It’s an effective stylistic contrast with McNee’s zealous earnestness. However, we never really dig into this Mephistopheles’s psyche, other than getting a general enthusiasm for fire and blood. The final master stroke which adds beauty, excitement and lyricism to the work is the essential role played by movement which sometimes breaks out into exhilarating dance routines devised by Paul Bayes-Kitcher, artistic director of Fallen Angels Dance Theatre with whom this is a co-production. The legend is best known in the UK through a play of c.1590 by Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus. In it, a scientist makes a pact with the devil that he will give him his soul eternally in exchange for access to untold magical abilities through the demon Mephistopheles. He fritters away these powers on fame, sex, and excess. As death and damnation approach, Faustus recognises the salvation that he has forfeited: “See, see where Christ’s blood streams in the firmament. One drop would save my soul; half a drop.” It is, tragically, too late.

Faustus has suffered all her life. Exhausted by her humanity, trapped inside the limits of her morality, and continuously having been tortured by the demons of her past The production will tour to Birmingham (26 February-7 March), Bristol (10-21 March), Leeds (24-28 March), and Newcastle (31 March-4 April). headlong.co.uk/productions/faustus-damned-womanThe demonic compelling tale is told from a female perspective, inverting its protagonist’s true gender, as Bush willingly places Faustus’ damned soul into a female body. She is most definitely not the first to have visualized Faustus as a woman, but from the few that have attempted to do so successfully over the centuries. As she re-writes her own personal history and that of women generally, it's like a combination of Dr. Who's ability to travel across time and Christopher Marlowe's (whose 1592 version of the story is still one of its most famous). A permanent theme explored throughout is the seemingly insurmountable range of obstacles women have to overcome to achieve anything in the face of a male-oriented society which leads Johanna to express incredulity when, after her first time jump, she encounters England’s first ever female doctor, so much so Faustus becomes convinced she too must have made the same pact with Lucifer.

Caroline Byrne’s production is atmospheric, which aids some of the more meandering sections of the play. Ana Inés Jabares-Pita’s dark, smoky set has skeletal trees arching over and covered with rough canvas, creating a claustrophobic bomb shelter-like structure; after the fire, ash rains down in a desolate cloud, hauntingly lit by Richard Howell, who also contributes spooky shadows. Ian William Galloway’s projections clarify the time jumps, and underline Johanna’s vengeance spree by scratching off the names of her victims, and Giles Thomas’s sound design adds visceral impact. But this is a piece overflowing with ideas that never really coalesce into a satisfying, coherent drama.Olivia Sweeney, who plays the title character Joanna, gives a relentless performance taking every facet of Joanna's complex character in her stride resulting in a breath-taking performance. My Faustus is by no means a saint. She’s still just as vainglorious and headstrong and morally compromised as any other version. She just happens to be a woman, and that means her narrative plays out in a different way. We should be filling our stages with women just as messy, complicated and conflicted as any of their male counterpoints, and I hope she lives up to that.

The Faust myth has fascinated writers for more than 400 years, inspiring two classics of Western theatre by Christopher Marlowe and Goethe. But this story of a man selling his soul to the devil in return for knowledge and fame has always been just that: a story of a man. Jocelyn Jee Esien played Doctor Faustus at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse a year ago but, despite a few changes, it remained Marlowe’s text. Chris Bush has now created a female-led spin on the myth in Faustus: That Damned Woman, using it to explore how women navigate power within a patriarchal system. London is already awash with major re-workings of classic texts, whether nudged into contemporary verse and attitude ( Cyrano de Bergerac at the Playhouse), modern dress and language ( Uncle Vanya at the Harold Pinter) or undergoing wholesale cultural re-orientation ( Three Sisters at the National, relocated to Nigeria). Now, most radically or playfully of all, depending on how receptive you are to it, the Faustian myth is re-dramatised here in a re-gendered version, which signals its intentions in its title of "Faustus That Damned Woman" and propels its title character on a journey through some 144 years of life (an extension that she's bought at the expense of her soul). That said, the Faust myth endures because it is universal, and I don’t think any of that changes with this new retelling. It’s still the same story of vaulting ambition, hubris and exceptionalism, of what we’re prepared to sacrifice to achieve greatness, of the tantalising thought that, despite all the evidence, we might finally be the one to outsmart the devil. None of this is lost by having a female Faustus, although hopefully it brings into focus the way in which women are still punished for their ambition in a way men often aren’t.This play is also available as an A4 Edition. With spiral binding, a larger print size and additional space for notes, this format is ideal for directors, stage managers, actors and others to use in rehearsal and production. The ideas behind Caroline Byrne’s production for the Lyric and Headlong are original and ambitious but don’t combine into a glorious whole. It is a shame because there is some fantastic revisionism here. As it is, the play ends up overreaching.