Review: Faustus in Africa!, Royal Lyceum Theatre

The tale of Faustus is a universal one: he’s a man who makes a bargain with the devil in order to further his own gain, which leads only to tragedy. In this production by Handspring Puppet Company the timeless tale is transposed to Africa, where Faustus’ greed and selfishness has huge and visceral impact on the people of the land over his long lifetime. The legendary tale of this one blinkered individual speaks here much more widely to a history of colonial brutality and damage, and suggests modern impacts in climate change. This revival of a show first staged in 1995 is sadly still enormously relevant today.

The clock is ticking from the moment the production begins, on an enormous projection screen over the stage. Beneath this, Faustus makes his pact with Mephistopheles and the inevitable unfolds. This Faustus is not only an academic but a slaver, who sets off on an intense safari to exploit Africa’s finest offerings. But it’s through the integration of stunning visuals from Director, Designer & Animator William Kentridge, juxtaposed on the screen above, that we see the true impact of Faustus’ actions, magnified above the humans who are made diminutive in puppet form. Kentridge’s astonishing and insightful drawings and animations pull no punches, illustrating the cruel murders and crimes that have occurred in Africa across the decades on the back of colonial and capitalistic activity. His work has a brutal sense of the documentary, whilst ironically being beautifully and agonisingly artistic.

Handspring’s puppets are of course beautifully crafted, operated dexterously and sensitively by a superb cast of talented puppeteers working seamlessly alongside human actors (Eben Genis, Atandwa Kani, Mongi Mthombeni, Wessel Pretorius, Asanda Rilityana, Buhle Stefane and Jennifer Steyn). Their very presence as objects underscores ideas of manipulation and the reality of humanity. The dialogue too supports the unnaturalness of the world created around Faustus’ deeds, its hypnotic verse adding an eerily artificial feel. Unsettling humour – with a scene-stealing, disruptive hyena and fabulous music that brings upbeat merriment as a band of puppets strut across the stage – leaves you questioning, are we really supposed to be enjoying this? What is our Eurocentric role in this problematic scenario?

There’s a lot happening all at once as we shift between scenes quite rapidly, whilst the physical staging (aside from the projection work) remains somewhat similar, making the story feel understandably relentless and a bit overwhelming. The show has been trimmed back from its original format, now running at one hour thirty minutes with no interval, but it would perhaps benefit from an interval, creating an opportunity to take a breath midway – a space to consider its range of complex commentaries.

For the second time this week, I once again think the large Lyceum stage isn’t an ideal choice for a production, this one having intimate oppression at its heart that’s not well served by a huge space. Faustus in Africa! is nonetheless an extraordinary evocation of history, politics, literature and art, imagined and performed by a talented team. I’d be interested to see it again when it comes to the Coronet Theatre in London in September.

Produced by Handspring Puppet Company
Director, Designer & Animation: William Kentridge
Associate Director: Lara Foot
Puppetry Directors from Handspring Puppet Company: Adrian Kohler & Basil Jones
Associate Puppetry Director: Enrico Dau Yang Wey
Puppets & Set Designer: Adrian Kohler
Puppet Costume Designers: Hazel Maree, Hiltrud von Seidlitz & Phyllis Midlane
Special Effects Designer: Simon Dunckley
Translator: Robert David Macdonald
Additional text: Lesego Rampolokeng
Music: James Phillips & Warrick Sony
Sound Designer: Simon Kohler
Lighting Designer: Wesley France
Sound Engineer: Tebogo Laaka

Faustus in Africa! runs at The Lyceum, Edinburgh until Saturday 23 August as part of The Edinburgh International Festival. You can read more about the production in our recent interview with Handspring’s Basil Jones.