If any of you are debating selling your soul to the devil this Halloween, Christopher Marlowe’s play “Dr. Faustus” may convince you otherwise.
The 407-year-old play is being produced by the UNM Department of Theatre and Dance and SCRAP productions at the UNM Experimental Theatre this week. The performance deviates from the original setting at the University of Wittenberg: the story leaps a few hundred years forward to take place at present-day UNM.
Surprisingly, the modern costuming and set do not clash with the dated language.
The play encroaches into the audience space, immersing viewers in the action. As Dr. Faustus summons spirits, sells his soul to the devil and conjures beings, whispering voices surround the audience from all sides. The audience feels as if it is unwillingly pulled into Dr. Faustus’ demonic greed and lust for knowledge through Justino Brokaw’s creative direction.
Dr. Faustus is not inhuman — Nick Salyer’s riveting performance paints the portrait of a conflicted man, torn between good and evil, a quintessential human.
He asks Mephistopheles, Lucifer’s messenger, about the nature of hell, and is told hell is everything that heaven is not — the human condition itself is hell. This conclusion is one of the most profound statements the play makes.
While many aspects of production are strong, the highlight is the comic relief provided by Van Hollenbeck and Michael Ray Carter, who play Faustus’ assistants Robin and Rafe, respectively. Carter has the comic timing down to a tee and is the perfect counterpoint to Salyer’s serious and tormented character.
The production had a few technical mishaps, including the shattering of a china dish across the stage floor, but the bulk of it was solid. In the grand scheme of things, that’s the best problem for which Brokaw could have hoped.
The play certainly gets its message about sin across, but it is not black and white. The audience leaves mulling over fate, free will, knowledge and redemption.
Dr. Faustus
by Christopher Marlowe
UNM Experimental Theatre
Oct. 21, 22, 27-2
7:30 p.m.
Oct. 23, 30
2 p.m.
$15 general, $12 faculty,
seniors, $10 staff & students
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