Doctor Faustus, Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, 11-20-08
This production has some shining moments, but overall left me wanting more followthrough. I originally thought that there was going to be an Orientalist spin on the play because the cast, with the exception of Mephistopheles, were all dressed in karate outfits, and the minimalist set design had a very Zen spa meets the Council of Elrond feel to it. There were moments, like the demon originally appearing as a dragon head in a cool piece of ensemble choreography, but overall it felt like there had been too much of an emphasis on exciting movement and easy jokes.

I have no problem with anachronisms in classical theatre - lord knows both Marlowe and Shakespeare didn't concern themselves overmuch with remaining true to period and location - but the soundtracky feel of the sound design and the choice to make one of the low characters a Western-accented hick didn't serve to further either the play or our understanding of it. Marlowe's language is by no means difficult, but I found myself losing my place often. I wondered if the cast was, too, because there were quite a few instances where I felt they were just saying these words instead of actually talking to each others' characters. One of my companions said it felt like a "goofy-through", which is when you run the show making the weirdest, goofiest choices possible, so you can get it out of your system and return to actually telling the story. I think he was right.

note - I don't like giving negative reviews. This is partially because I don't want to appear impolitic and rude, especially since I know how hard it is to put a show up, but also partially because I don't want to cost anyone any ticket sales (not like I'm in danger of that here in SF, but still). However, Doctor Faustus closes this weekend, so the second concern is even more miniscule.