A man sells his soul to the devil, a tale that feels as old as time itself. It has been reiterated across cultures, continues to compel us, and seems more relevant than ever in today’s capitalist, consumerist landscape. But what is perhaps the most famous iteration of this story, Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, originates from a little over four centuries ago. It is to the wit and credit of Seabass Productions’ adaptation of this play, directed by Seb Carrington, that this classic Elizabethan tragedy speaks to the needs and anxieties of the present day.
As I entered the O’Reilly, an atmosphere of gravitas enveloped the room. We stumbled upon a Latin church service, led by a priest (Ali Khan, who also, incidentally, plays Satan!), as our main cast faced him. All, that is, except from the titular Doctor Faustus (Paul Tomlinson), who defiantly faced away, and refused to participate. This very much set the tone for the rest of the production. It is from a place of profound disaffection with the status quo that our protagonist dabbles in the dark arts, and makes a deal with the devil Mephistopheles (Cameron Spruce) to have omnipotence for 24 years, before Lucifer claims his soul. And so the occult drama begins…
The space itself is actually quite sparse: it is simply a white room, with a makeshift altar at the back. But this worked very well both aesthetically and thematically. When I interviewed the director alongside the leading actor a week ago, Carrington made clear their interest in effectively approaching the drama as a character study, focusing upon “rich characters that lend themselves to becoming a space.” Indeed, Tomlinson effectively embodies the space as the play begins, and makes it his own, flexing his body as he prepares to deliver a speech on his disaffection with the scholarly arts. At one moment, Faustus is forced to slice into his own arm, and sign a contract with a blood; at another, he indulges in a frenzied rave with the Seven Deadly Sins. The one thing that remains constant is the play’s interest in representing the hell that lies within Faustus’s mind.
Carrington’s particular take on Faustus is a caricature of a fascist. Tomlinson aptly described him as “a little bit Jack Skellington, a little bit Hitler”. Indeed, his performance is constantly marked by an outward display of bravado and arrogance, embodying the archetypal Marlovian overreacher. That is not to say that his performance was without moments of vulnerability, however. Particularly during the closing scenes of the play, I was floored by the sheer heights from which Tomlinson’s Faustus fell. It is a testament to both his performance and Carrington’s direction that this tragic descent resonates so deeply.
No discussion of Tomlinson’s Faustus is complete without acknowledging Spruce’s Mephistopheles. Carrington describes Faustus and Mephistopheles as two halves of “the same entity,” an idea that comes to the fore during their first scene together. After Faustus approaches Mephistopheles, the duo mirror one another’s actions, approaching each other with an identical curiosity. While elements of hostility and manipulation do linger behind Spruce’s performance, they are layered beneath a surprisingly tender relationship between the man and the devil. The queered take on the Faustus-Mephistopholes dynamic was a very welcome idea; indeed, it was these moments of Mephistopheles bringing Faustus close to his body, and seemingly caring for the man, that produced the most vulnerable moments in the play.
However, I was less convinced by the new material that has been added to the original text. Faustus becoming a mere puppet for the authoritarian emperor’s regime felt more distracting from the Marlovian material than a supplement to it. Admittedly, it was very entertaining to watch Tomlinson deliver a speech that was a satirised blend of Trump, Farage, and Andrew Tate. In terms of the language, however, I struggled to reconcile Marlowe’s “thous” and “thees” with the “fucks” and (in one instance) “arselicker” of the added material. That is not to say that the emphasis on a fascist Faustus always fails; when Faustus is reading the terms of his contract with Mephistopheles, for instance, he stands against projections of the Third Reich that interestingly juxtapose different varieties of evil power. But this to me only evidences that the text does not need to be massively changed to convey the central themes of this adaptation.
As we discussed the play, Carrington informed me that the majority of the behind-the-scenes crew identified as women and non-binary. This was a very welcome idea, for me; I have tended to read Doctor Faustus as a very male-oriented play, with Helen of Troy (a spirit whom Faustus summons merely for his sexual gratification) being the primary female role available. But, between the behind-the-scenes team and the various non-male actors that participated in the action, Seabass Productions provides a fresh take on Marlowe’s play. This feels appropriate, in light of this production’s interest in resisting the rise of the far right. Indeed, I was particularly taken by Amber Meeson’s performance of both the Good Angel and Helen; this is the only character, according to Carrington, who is deliberately gendered female. The climax of the play takes creative advantage of this slippage between the Good Angel and Helen. Without veering into spoilers, Meeson’s final engagements with Faustus were perhaps the most intense moments of the drama. Even when she is silent, her expressions in themselves speak volumes. The fear she ultimately feels towards Faustus becomes palpable, and uncovers the monstrous depths to which our tragic protagonist stoops.
I was informed, before the play began, that there would be a few technical difficulties during the opening night that were not in the company’s control. But, they by no means distracted from the force, maturity, and sheer skill of the actors. I was, at times, simply floored by Carrington’s production of this classic play; there was a constant tension, both emotional and sexual, that wound up over the course of the action, and found its relief in moments of high intensity. I can only be excited for what the production will look like over the coming nights as these technical difficulties are smoothed over, doing justice to the brilliant acting of this cast.
[Seabass Productions’ Doctor Faustus is running 26-29th Nov 2025 at the Keble O’Reilly]