WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2
WHERE: Duke Of York’s
WHEN: 9/4, runs to 25/6
Kit Harington is onstage only in tight white boxer shorts showing off his muscles and reveals his bare bottom to whoops of delight from this audience at this first preview.
- Read on for all the gossip from the 1st preview of Doctor Faustus
The scene is not gratuitous and actually entirely in keeping with the pact Harington’s Doctor Faustus makes with the devil and in the modern-day play-within-a-play at the show’s heart his magician finds fame but not love.
The pre-publicity for the sixth season of Game Of Thrones has centred on whether Kit Harrington’s character Jon Snow will appear.
But here he is in London’s West End, eight years after he was cast while at drama school in the National’s production of War Horse, in Christopher Marlowe’s 1604 play by the Jamie Lloyd Company.
Harington is impressive in his first West End leading role since he found fame in Game Of Thrones but it is his Mephistopheles (Jenna Russell, who sings Kylie’s Better The Devil You Know, Cliff Richard’s Devil Woman and Meatloaf’s Bat Out Of Hell so memorably at the start of act two) and the big-hearted Wagner (Jade Anouka) who really shine.
The direction by Jamie Lloyd is as quirky as ever with some wonderful sight gags involving the devil giving Faustus books including a copy of Hello and Mary Berry’s latest.
The script is not as tight as it could be but does include a topical reference to David Cameron’s tax affairs which earns a spontaneous round of applause.
If you’re a fan of Harington’s the material might be a little challenging but you’ll come away from this show with your admiration for the Game Of Thrones star buffed.
- Picture by Matt Humphrey via Facebook courtesy Jamie Lloyd Company. Tickets here.
- Enjoyed this review? Follow its author on Twitter @NeilDurham
monstagigz 
It sounds really intriguing! Looking forward to seeing it in a few weeks time!
Can I ask what you mean by ‘If you’re a fan of Harington’s the material might be a little challenging’? Not all Game of Thrones fans are first time theatre goers. In fact some of them, myself included, go regularly to a wide range of productions.
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Last night’s audience was a lot younger (and much more enthusiastic) than your usual West End crowd. Marlowe’s hard work for everyone and is not the obvious choice I’d say for a star attempting to break out from Game Of Thrones.
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Yes that’s a fair point. It’s good if it gets younger people into the theatre though I guess! I hope by ‘enthusiastic’ you don’t mean they were disruptive…!
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They were a little bit disruptive (I could hear the couple behind me eating crisps at one point and occasionally commenting on Harington’s tattoo) but the theatre desperately needs a younger crowd. A few people left at the interval and the point I was really trying to make is that it’s worth sticking with.
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Oh that’s annoying. When I saw Coriolanus at the Donmar the two girls next to me were whispering and giggling throughout and it was distracting. I completely agree about the theatre needing younger audiences though, and I hope that if Dr Faustus is as good as you make it sound that most people will stay for the whole performance! 😊
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