Faustus (play)
| Faustus | |
|---|---|
| Written by | David Mamet |
| Directed by | David Mamet |
| Date premiered | March 2004 |
| Place premiered | San Francisco |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Drama |
Faustus is a two act play by David Mamet that had its world premiere in San Francisco's Magic Theatre in March 2004, directed by Mamet.[1][2] It is a contemporary version of the Faust legend.
Contents
Plot
In this version, Faustus is a married young scientist and philosopher with a child in the 1900s. However, after his latest work is slammed by critics, he makes a demonic deal with a bizarre party entertainer, 'Magus'.
Reception
Variety's Dennis Harvey wrote a negative review, criticizing the dialogue, lack of emotion and staging, saying, "Those who suspect Mamet the director is far from Mamet the writer’s best interpreter will find that notion amply supported here. Even allowing for the lumpy prose, which would sap energy under any circumstances, the physical production is remarkably stilted."[3]
The Seattle Times: Arts & Entertainment: Playwright David Mamet crafts head-scratching adaptation of 'Dr. Faustus-"Faustus'. Faustus. Faustus," it's hard to believe this is the same guy who wrote so indelibly of small-time American dreamers and schemers in the punchy plays "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "American Buffalo," and the film "House of Games. Faustus" is something of a puzzlement, more rhetorically and temperamentally attuned to the pitiless, Elizabethan-era "Dr. Faustus" of Christopher Marlowe than to Goethe's redemptive 19th-century "Faust," or Thomas Mann's reworking of "Faust" into a Nazi-era parable. Over a single, clotted scene, Faustus gets shuttled into his own murky hell. Faustus" closes with a similar sort of fearless inventory. Faustus" as a Mamet clunker - made worse by the author's notorious reputation of being a poor director of his own works?Precisely because the Magic staging is so enervated, and the lead isn't depicted by a classically trained actor equipped to elucidate the verse, I'm not quite willing to dismiss "Dr. Faustus" yet." -- Seattle Times - Apr 6, 2004[4] Los Angeles Times: Archives-"Faustus" in London in 2002, while 's "Dr. Faustus" finally had its world premiere at the Magic Theatre here on Saturday. Faustus" is told in an archaic diction, a convoluted syntax that could trip up even William F. FAUSTUS': as Magus; playwright and director David Mamet; and as Faustus rehearse Mamet's new play at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco." -- Los Angeles Times - Mar 3, 2004[5]
References
- ↑ Hernandez, Ernio. "David Mamet to Direct World Premiere of His 'Dr. Faustus' at San Francisco's Magic" Playbill, October 21, 2003
- ↑ "Review of 'Faustus'" mamet.eserver.org, March 2004, accessed october 24, 2015
- ↑ Harvey, Dennis. "Review" Variety, March 9, 2004
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External Links
- Faustus at The David Mamet Society
