DOCTOR FAUSTUS by Christopher Marlowe Curtain Up Theatre School, The Studio, St.

Gregorys Catholic College, Bath Monday 3rd December 2012 Director: Tristan Carter; Choreographer: Annette Wilsher Graeme Savage reports To be presenting a 400 year old drama full of Jacobean language, necromancy and pacts with the devil at a time when every other theatre school in the country must be thinking about carols, snowflakes and Christmas concerts, says everything you need to know about Curtain Up and their principal, Tristan Carters principles! Challenging for both the cast and the audience, this talented young company did remarkably well to present an entertaining evening. In the title role, Hal Batty belied his young age to be word perfect with some impressive monologues. Not only remembering the words, but understanding them and then conveying that understanding to the audience is an enormous challenge for any young actor, but Hal dealt with this confidently, giving us both a Faustus whose frustrations with what he doesnt have, and later with what he finally achieves, were easy to empathise with. He was given strong support by Millie Bolts charismatic Mephistopheles, making Faustus journey into hell a convincing one. In a large cast, all the young actors dealt with the challenging script with confidence, showing the faith they have in Tristans direction, but also his confidence to trust them with demanding language and poetry. There were no actors that we struggled to hear, and all seemed to understand their dialogue and their place in the plot. The humour was provided chiefly by a lively and captivating performance from Kay McLauchlan as Robin, partnered to great effect by Tom Weedons Robin again not simply being funny because they think they should be, but handling the Elizabethan japery and innuendo with real understanding. Likewise, Maisy Carter stood out in numerous roles, bringing a subtle difference to each of her several cameo appearances. The simple space was well used, with the minimal set and lighting proving starkly effective, as was the economical use of the balcony, which provided some nice effects the appearance of Lucifer, and the money being showered upon Faustus in particular. The use of modern music (with some fabulous choreography by Annette Wilsher) and a blend of contemporary and period costumes and props was nicely balanced, emphasising that this is a story which although written 400 years ago, has relevance throughout our times. At times some of the sound effects ended a little abruptly, jolting us out of the spell of the story, but this is a minor issue. Congratulations on a successful presentation of a difficult piece for any company, let alone a cast of young teenagers, and the experiences the young people take from this, as opposed to coasting through an easier production, will be a great asset to them in their future training.

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