A Deal With The Devil Comes To York This October With Pop Yer Clogs Theatre’s Faustus

Pop Yer Clogs Theatre will return to Theatre@41 in York this October with its latest production, Doctor Faustus, running from 1st to 3rd October. Over the last couple of years, the company has taken audiences through a range of stories and styles, from the wit of The Importance of Being Earnest and the whimsical world of Alice in Wonderland, to the adventure of The Wind in the Willows, the gothic atmosphere of Jekyll and Hyde and the inventive retelling of The Great Gatsby. This time, the company turns to Christopher Marlowe's classic tale of ambition, temptation and damnation.

First performed in the late 16th century, Doctor Faustus tells the story of a scholar whose ambition leads him to make a terrible bargain. After years of study, Doctor Faustus turns to the forbidden arts, selling his soul to Lucifer in exchange for knowledge, power and worldly pleasures. With 24 years before the debt is due, Faustus is guided by the demonic Mephistopheles through a world of temptation, spectacle and excess, encountering the Seven Deadly Sins, conjuring spirits and seeking glory beyond mortal limits.

Pop Yer Clogs Theatre’s new adaptation takes Marlowe’s tale in a distinctly different theatrical direction, reimagining Doctor Faustus as Doctor Joan Faustus and placing a woman at the centre of this timeless story of ambition and damnation. The production embraces the larger-than-life characters, spectacle and moments of dark comedy within the original, while exploring the tragedy of someone who has everything she could wish for, yet is never satisfied with what she has.

Lydia McCudden, director and performer of Joan Faustus, says: “Doctor Faustus is a simple play about someone selling their soul to the Devil, and yet it delves into the nature of the human soul and ambition. It’s an old cautionary tale, and I wanted to explore those ideas through the physicality and theatricality of the piece, with Commedia dell’arte as a perfect jumping-off point for bringing that to life. Our production heavily uses masks, which are an integral part of Commedia, and hand-making them in the traditional style was a fun challenge. There’s lots of paint and papier-mâché, which has given the production a very handmade quality. Faustus is a tragedy, but it plays like a dark comedy at times. The comedy, though, is only a futile distraction from Faustus’ fate.”

The production also explores the complex relationship between Faustus and her demonic companion, Mephistopheles, whose influence is central to Faustus' journey towards damnation.

Erin Keogh, who plays Mephistopheles, says: “Doctor Faustus wasn't a piece of literature I was overly familiar with going into rehearsals, but now I can say that there's a lot more layers to the story and the characters than I initially thought. Faustus and Mephistopheles are both beautifully complex characters and the tension between them is palpable. I'm really looking forward to this show. It's a new direction for Pop Yer Clogs Theatre and an amazing personal challenge for myself.”

Pop Yer Clogs Theatre continues to build a reputation for inventive and imaginative storytelling, exploring different theatrical styles with each production. With Doctor Faustus, the company combines physical theatre, handmade design and gothic storytelling to bring a centuries-old tale of ambition and damnation to a modern audience.

Doctor Faustus will run from the 1st to 3rd October at 7:30 pm each evening, with a 2:30 pm matinee on the Saturday. Tickets and further information can be found at

https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/seasons/026230ab-9619-4f45-9473-e9f3a5845b2f