Ruth Leon recommends… Doctor Faustus – Globe Player
Ruth Leon recommendsDoctor Faustus – Globe Player
£59.99 (annual subscription) for a year of unlimited Shakespeare, or buy this play for £9.99
Doctor Faustus is Christopher Marlowe’s most renowned and controversial work. There are multiple versions -musical, dramatic, comedic – of the Faust story about the man who sells his soul to the Devil but this is the original 1592 play. Famous for being the first dramatised version of the Faustus tale, the play depicts the sinister aftermath of Faustus’s decision to sell his soul to the Devil’s henchman in exchange for power and knowledge.
The story, oft copied, is of Doctor Faustus, restless for knowledge, who forsakes scholarship for magic and makes a pact with the Devil: if the evil spirit Mephistopheles will serve him for 24 years, Faustus will yield his soul to the Devil after death. It isn’t long before Faustus has doubts about the bargain, but Mephistopheles has plenty of entertainment at hand to distract Faustus from the terrifying reality of his position and the prospect of its agonising conclusion.
It is now available on Shakespeare’s Globe platform. It stars Arthur Darvill as Mephistopheles and Paul Hilton as Faustus.
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