MUSICAL THEATRE
Bailey’s free adaptation of “Faust II”, created for Weimar as an international co-production, begins where “Faust I” ends. Bound by a pact with Mephisto to forfeit his soul if he ever finds inner peace, Dr Faust meddles in the economies of the global south, and plays war games on the fringes of the EU. He implements grand plans for technological expansion to master nature, society and – like a tech oligarch – distant planets.
Feeling like a vagabond in a world in which he has no home, Faust is forever on the move, driven always to push beyond frontiers in his hunger for intensity of experience and – ultimately – power. Often with tragic results…Performed by an irreverent troupe of masked South African performers, Bailey tells a visually powerful, surreal and haunting story about human striving, temptation and uncontrollable ambition that is as relevant in today’s fragmented world as it was when it was written.
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Age recommendation: 12 plus
Languages: German and English
CREDITS
Writer, Designer, Director: Brett Bailey
Dramaturg: ChatGPT
Design Collaborator: Tanya P. Johnson
Video Editor: Kirsti Cumming
Sound Editor: Simon Kohler
German Voice Artist: Lionel Tomm and Jessica Masague Honorato
Choreographer: Natalie Fisher
Costume Coordinator: Enrique de Villiers
Lighting Designer: Nicolaas de Jongh
Production Manager: Yusuf Abrahams
Stage Manager: Fundiswa Mrali
Producer & General Manager: Barbara Mathers
PERFORMERS and CREATIVE COLLABORATORS:
Darion Adams
Liezl de Kock
Iman Isaacs
Sophie Joans
Siphenathi Mayekiso
Toni Morkel
Photos ©Candy Welz – Production photos from Weimar
Produced by third world bunfight and created for Kunstfest Weimar 2025
In coproduction with Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers-CDN, Kleist Forum Frankfurt (Oder)
Created with support from Spier Wine Farm, South Africa
Music recordings courtesy of : BNF, Denovali Records, Esoteric Antennae Records, Deutsche Gramophon, Pelagic Records, Smalltown Supersound, Naxos Music, Kompakt, One Media Publishing, Naïve Records, Zefir Records, Universal Music, Biophon Records and Celestial Harmonies.