Game of Throne’s Kit Harington makes pact with the Devil in Dr Faustus
Game of Throne’s Kit Harington has made a pact with the Devil to return to the London stage this spring to play the title role in an anarchic production of Doctor Faustus at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London.
Jamie Lloyd directs Christopher Marlowe’s masterwork, with two acts by Colin Teevan. It previews from April 9.
Harington has played Jon Snow in Game of Thrones since 2011. On stage, he was in the original casts of War Horse (National Theatre) and Posh (Royal Court).
With Teevan’s darkly comic scenes replacing the extant middle acts (widely believed not to have been written by Marlowe), and dynamic stage illusions, the story of this 400-year-old play will be transported to a celebrity-obsessed society of greed and instant gratification, offering a fresh perspective that chimes with our times.
Faustus makes a pact with the Devil, selling his soul in return for the ability to perform anything he pleases with the power of black magic.
This fatal decision catapults him into an intoxicating world of celebrity, as he becomes a world-renowned conjuror, international heartthrob and friend of the rich, famous and powerful. But what is the cost of his insatiable thirst for wealth and fame?
Said Harington: “I have been away from the theatre for six years, so the combination of Colin Teevan’s inventive version of Marlowe’s extraordinary play in the hands of the visionary director Jamie Lloyd all felt like the perfect reason to come back.
“Faustus’ journey is exhilarating and the idea of playing a magician – a showman – is hugely exciting.”
Jamie Lloyd said “Kit Harington is one of the most dynamic young actors around and he’s eager for a new challenge.
“This version of this legendary play combines the very best of Marlowe’s text with thrilling work by Colin Teevan, which replaces the notorious central acts, long-suspected to be of spurious origin”.
Doctor Faustus runs from April 9-June 4. Tickets go on sale February 26.
The actors work hard, and there’s talent here … but this piece is a major West End disappointment. Insultingly so. It intends to shock but really only offends–and believe me, I’m no prude. It is hideously ugly to look at all the way through (I guess they were making a point about hell, but where are the earthly attractions to counter-balance?); it’s impossible to like Faustus, even though the actor himself seems very likeable and quite talented–and the middle scenes, not written by Marlowe, are heavy-handed, amateurish, and, well, silly. The only tragedy here is the waste of time and money, and the toll it is clearly taking on the actors. Sympathies to them. The producers/director seem to think that all they have to do is display Kit H. nearly naked onstage and people will feel they got their money’s worth. Not so. There is felonious actor abuse going on here. This show, which was supposed to be all about magic, is desperately lacking in same–though there’s plenty of blood and brain matter and vomit! The only “magic” we see is a bit of flash paper and a flower, awkwardly produced in its stead. Oh, and there’s a levitation bit, but you can see the lift doing the “levitating.” It’s as if we are watching an experimental acting troupe’s good-hearted but wrong-headed attempt, done on a shoestring budget by a greedy, money-grubbing front office. Or a shell game on the street: give us your money, we’ll give you a show alright. What was the director thinking? Again, the actors work really, really hard, praises to them; and sympathies for having to run around in their underwear so much (two of them totally nude: not good, embarrassing, gratuitous), vomit different consistencies of bile, defecate, eat it, believe it or not, and get nasty-nasty dirty. In short, the actors have been massively let down by the management of this lemon, and so will you be if you go. Don’t. I’d like my money back.