Out of Office Theatre has condensed Christopher Marlowe’s classic play into a modern version of Dr Faustus lasting 50 minutes – it heads up to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer.
“Dr Jonathan Faustus is fed up with his life and desperate for the recognition he deserves. Cue the powers that be. In a vain bid to secure his glory, Faustus turns to the occult. Experience the carnage that comes with literally… making a deal with the devil. Marlowe’s classic, reimagined into the modern day (with one or two tweaks).”
Where: Lower Theatre at theSpace @ Niddry St
When: 24-28 Aug
Ticket link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/dr-faustus
What can you tell us about your show? What is it about and where did the idea come from?
We wanted to make Christopher Marlowe’s best (in our opinion) work available to everyone. We’ve taken a classic tale of hubris and updated it with modern language and direction. While the themes of the play remain the same, we’ve injected some comedy and removed all of the ‘Shakespearean’ speech. After all, we’re playing to a modern audience, not people who went to work on a horse.
How would you sell it to audiences in one paragraph?
Here comes the spiel:
A doctor, a devil, and a deal. It’s a tale as old as time. Now reimagined into the modern day. Bringing a classic tale up to date via modern language/themes, Dr Faustus is a fast-paced, comical take on Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. No more arguing over the correct use of “thou” or where to put the stress on iambic, Dr Faustus says it as it is, in (somewhat) perfect English.
Do you enjoy participating in the Fringe? And do you have any moments you particularly remember?
Most of our cast have at least one Edinburgh Fringe under their belt and can unanimously say, we loved the experience. We’re all Theatre bunnies, so spending time with our fellow creatives and going to see some quite out there, nebulous shows was right up our street. A couple of us are big comedy fans too, so the Fringe was everything we wanted.
What are you looking forward to the most in Edinburgh?
Last year, we spent most nights Cèilidh dancing, and I think we’re all very much looking forward to doing that again.
What’s next for the show?
We’ve received some great feedback, and people don’t seem to hate the concept, so there might be some other modern takes on classics on the horizon. As for Dr Faustus itself, watch this space.