A sardonic nurse leads a line of five wheelchair-bound men in dance to Wham!’s “Last Christmas”. Fairy lights illuminate the pink interiors of the old folks home. A pretty female nurse draws what attention there is. Demonic figures in pants and pigeon’s wings flit, suspended on a trampoline above the audience. Meanwhile, at his fellow residents’ behest, a decrepit, once-famous actor plays the role he never got to play.
Mephisto’s string vest = secret to his sexiness? Image from http://www.backstagemedia.com
Iceland’s Vesturport Theatre’s reinvention of Faust brought acrobatic and satanic revelry to Brooklyn Academy of Music last December, as part of the 30th Next Wave Festival. Set to straining and distorted music by long-time collaborators Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, the performance delighted in the macabre.
Thorsteinn Gunnarsson is brilliant as Johann: Faust’s modern avatar. At the end of his tether (literally), Johann is offered a deal by the devil Mephisto, losing himself to his lust for the pretty nurse. And as devils tumble and wheelchairs cascade above you, you are drawn to the play’s absurdity.
Faust: A Love Story is as much comedy as tragedy, bringing holiday season panic – What have we accomplished? achieved? – to bear upon the stage. Johann wants one last night to remember, and this production certainly delivered one to its audience.
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