19 - 09 - 2010 [Drama On 3]

By Johann Wolfgang Goethe, translated by John R. Williams, with Samuel West as Faust, Toby Jones as Mephistopheles, Anna Maxwell Martin as Gretchen and Derek Jacobi as The Lord. Adapted and directed by David Timson, with music composed by Roger Marsh.

Goethe's Faust, one of the pillars of Western literature, is presented in a dramatisation by David Timson. In Part 1, following an agreement between Mephistopheles and The Lord, the scholar Faust is tempted into a contract with the Devil. His life is changed and he plunges into the enjoyment of sensuality until his emotions are stirred by a meeting with Gretchen, leading to a tragic outcome. Part 2, written much later in Goethe's life, presents a series of episodic scenes in which the poet places his eponymous hero in a variety of surprising circumstances reflecting the predicament of humanity. Funny, reflective and moving, this dramatisation shows why Goethe's Faust had such a massive influence on Western culture.

Faust - Samuel West

Mephistopheles - Toby Jones

Gretchen - Anna Maxwell Martin

The Lord - Derek Jacobi

Wagner (Faust's assistant) - Stephen Critchlow

Martha - Joannah Tincey

Valentin (Gretchen's brother) - Peter Kenny

Helen - Emily Raymond

The Emperor - Gunnar Cauthery

The Earth Spirit and Thales - Sean Barrett

Lord Chancellor and Anaxagoras - Hugh Dickson

Homunculus - Anne-Marie Piazza

Nereus - Gerard Horan

Chiron and Proteus - Gunnar Cauthery

Manto and Panthalis - Auriol Smith

Lynceus - Peter Kenny

Care - Emily Raymond

Euphorion - Daniel Mair

Music by Roger Marsh

Musicians: The 24, directed by the composer with Peyee Chen (soprano) Georgina Wells (harp) and Mark Hutchinson (oboe)

Sound Design and Additional Music by Norman Goodman.

Adapted and Directed by David Timson.

Producer: Nicolas Soames.

An Ukemi Production for Radio 3.

Faust is tempted into a contract with the Devil and his life is changed.