The Observer: "I'd sell my soul to see this Faust again."
The Observer: "I'd sell my soul to see this Faust again."
“Radu Stanca” National Theatre enjoyed phenomenal success at Edinburgh International Festival (United Kingdom), where it gave five performances of “Faust”, directed by Silviu Purcărete, between the 18th and the 22nd of August, 2009. The tickets for all these performances had sold out two weeks in advance and, meeting the countless requests, the organisers released thirty extra tickets for each performance, thus giving 2650 theatre enthusiasts the chance to witness this feast of the senses.
The audience extensively applauded each performance and gave standing ovation, while theatre critics were fascinated with this enthralling theatrical experience and with Ofelia Popii’s exceptional performance. The actress, who portrays Mephistopheles in this production, has astonished the Edinburgh audience with her power of expression, her versatility and her charisma, proving herself a true force of nature in the role which brought her the Herald Angel Award at the Edinburgh International Festival. The Herald Angel awards are granted in collaboration with the Bank of Scotland to the talented artists who have managed to impress The Herald's distinguished panel of arts critics.
“Faust” was one of the most talked about festival events in the British press and some of the most important newspapers and magazines dedicated generous articles and reviews to the production.
I'd sell my soul to see this Faust again. Quite the most blisteringly stunning theatrical experience of this (or, appropriately enough, any other) life, Faust (Ingliston Lowland Hall) seared and stuck like hot tar on bare skin. This Romanian production, in a hangar of a shed near the airport, left most of us mesmerised and enthralled, and left me saddened only in one perverse way: I may never see a grander, more theatrical event in my life. (The Observer, 23 august 2009)
Striking and storming, this Faust is a spectacle. From start to finish director Purcarete's play, adapted from Goethe's drama, is disturbing. Helmut Stürmer's set design plays an integral part in creating this atmosphere as the play opens in Faust's cold and pale classroom. The production becomes a mind-bending experience in which disturbing characters, costume design and eerie music continually unsettle the audience. (…)
Among the cast of 120 actors, Ofelia Popii stands out. Popii's powerful and awesome portrayal of Mephistopheles is world class. Her overwhelming voice and movement means her presence is always felt on stage, even when she lurks in the shadows. (The Herald, 22 august 2009)
So ravishing that you're almost prepared to sell your soul to the devil to keep the succession of lush images coming, Silviu Purcarete's version of Goethe's Faust is such a seductive visual fantasia that you might not notice it has sold its own soul to spectacle. But what a mighty spectacle it is, with a series of eye-popping illusions and conjuring tricks that make you feel as if you've fallen into a waking dream – or a nightmare. (The Guardian, 20 august 2009)
I have not seen such a complex, phenomenal staging since Janusz Wisniewski brought his The End Of Europe to the Fringe here in 1985, half my lifetime ago, and Purcarete’s Faust has a wealth of intellectual content to match its visceral impact. (After all that, it even manages to bring off Faust’s ultimate redemption.) This production by the Radu Stanca National Theatre of Sibiu has already sold out, but I fervently advise anyone within striking distance of Edinburgh to call in every favour they can think of in order to secure a ticket. (Financial Times, 20 august 2009)
Ofelia Popii delivers a tour-de-force as a gender bending Mephistopheles who seems like a man at first, then strips off her costume to reveal both female breasts and a bulging codpiece. Her croaky voice, disconcerting shape-shifting and sheer charisma all combine to create a genuinely disconcerting figure who might really have arrived from some infernal world. (The Telegraph, 19 august 2009)
If you are staging a festival about the Enlightenment, then the tragedy of Faust – the restless and arrogant scholar who sells his soul to the devil – must form part of the picture. And now, it comes to Edinburgh in a version by Romanian director Silviu Purcarete, and his Theatre Radu Stanca of Sibiu, that must be one of the most breathtaking shows ever staged by the official Edinburgh Festival. But it also offers a serious 21st century reinterpretation of the story, in which the devil Mephistopheles is finally defeated by forces of innocence. (The Scotsman, 19 august 2009)
It's hard not to be blown away by the Edinburgh International Festival's staging of Faust. A production so huge, it has to be staged at the Lowland Hall in Ingliston, it leaves you after two and half hours of unrelenting spectacle, feeling slightly exhausted and a little overwhelmed. From the chalk-faced students behind Victorian desks in a giant classroom full of newspaper, to the pig headed creatures in white coats and pulsating bodies moving in time to the sniggers of Mephistopheles, it's one visual feast after another. (BBC, 18 august 2009)
The presence of the National Theatre "Radu Stanca" of Sibiu at the Edinburgh International Festival was possible due to the generous support of the Government of Romania, of the Ministry of Culture, Cults and National Heritage of Romania and of the Romanian Cultural Institue.