A Review of Devilish Whimsy Productions’ Faust Part One

With every production there is an element that stands out, a motif that characterises the play in your mind. For Faust this was undeniably the use of lighting. The bold usage of blue and red to separate the light from the dark, the angels from the devils, heaven from hell was powerful. The motif ran through the play, acting as both halo and barrier. This decision added an atmosphere to The Michael Pilch Studio this seventh week as we were greeted to the familiar story of temptation and inevitable damnation.

The traverse stage is a set up we do not see often in The Pilch, the choice leading to a necessity for director Freddie Houlahan to be aware of the actors’ relationship with the audience far more than in any other seating layout. He handled this competently, despite the challenge of actors inevitably ending up blocking each other. Through this choice of staging, there were the full range of entrances available to the cast (for those unfamiliar with The Pilch this a total of five). Before the central door was inked a pentacle, introducing the central concept of witchcraft from the moment that the audience entered and allowing for the door to become also a portal through which both angels and Mephistopheles could pass. On the topic of summoning Mephistopheles, I was reminded of the iconic Shakespeare in Love line of Geoffrey Rush’s Philip Henslowe; comedy, love, and a bit with a dog. Certainly, this play had all of these things, even if audiences were forced to imagine the dog.

As our dog morphed (as seen through the open door by Faust) into Mephistopheles, audiences had the pleasure of witnessing Cosimo Asvisio’s wonderful performance of the character as he interacted with Aravid Ravi’s Faust for the first time. Asvisio filled the role with a never-ending energetic exuberance that made him a pleasure to watch as he gambolled about the stage dragging Ravi’s character in his wake. By contrast, the titular character was awkward, quiet and earnest, drawing us easily into his story. There is no denying the talent on display, both actors rising competently to the challenge of roles that could easily have felt out of date. The difficulty with pieces of this age is making audiences forget that they aren’t watching something in a modern dialect, the performances making the play comprehensible and relatable at all times. While this play did not entirely achieve this, the actors certainly gave it a good shot and they clearly understood the nuances of what they were saying. On the topic of actors, a shoutout to Caitlin McAnespy’s performance as Margaret and Rebecca Harper’s striking movements as the Witch are entirely necessary.

It was clear that a lot of effort went into the set from this production. While minimal setting was utilised, the heavy set dressing of the desk and cabinet brought the story to life and situated it perfectly. We have seen both limited and highly elaborate sets this term, but I am not sure that I have seen such carefully selected pieces of furniture. The choice was an effective one, making up for the otherwise limited use of on stage set or props. Some of the props that did make an appearance included cans for drinkers at one point, the crowds in this and other scenes being portrayed through the use of sound rather than the physical presence of actors upon the stage. While this was an interesting solution, it did not wholly work and some scenes would have benefits from a few more bodies. I was also a little bemused by the presence of cast members within the audience. As for the stage management itself, the blackouts, while being in places slightly too long, were made interesting through the use of a loudly ticking clock which almost seemed to be counting down the seconds to Faust’s damnation.

Ultimately this was a play by a director who clearly knew the space and had a vision of precisely how he wanted to use it. The red and blue lighting were utilised with this same attention to detail and commitment to vision, their full scope being brought into play during the final scene where the separation between heaven and hell was at its clearest. There was some strong acting at play, particularly from the central duo who played well off each other. Moreover, the play sported a finale that left audiences aware of the emotional effect of a powerful scene. At times it could have been tighter, but that is merely a tired Finalist nitpicking about the length of transitions.

Image courtesy of Freddie Houlahan