Richmond Shakespeare to Presents DOCTOR FAUSTUS in July

Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus opens Friday July 5, 2024 and runs Thursday - Sunday evenings at 8p through July 21, 2024 at Agecroft Hall's courtyard stage. A special Independence Day preview performance will take place on July 4 at 8p. This is a limited three week run of a rarely produced play by the Elizabethan Age's other rock star playwright, Kit Marlowe.

"Our production of Doctor Faustus is going to be very special," remarks artistic director James Ricks. "The play was wildly popular when it was first performed in 1594, largely because it features appearances from angels, demons, the 7 deadly sins, Helen of Troy, and even mighty Lucifer himself! We're excited to bring it to the stage in 2024 because we have a team of designers that are sinking their teeth into the work. With original designs from some incredible local artists, we're going to make sure this show is as lavish as Marlowe intended. We've also got some of Richmond's most beloved actors bringing this incredible language to life. This show is definitely going to be a wild ride."

Doctor Faustus will close out the Richmond Shakespeare Festival's 25th Anniversary Season after a wildly successful run of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.A brilliant but embittered academic, Faustus is a solitary scholar who has exhausted the confines of human knowledge. Frustrated with the futility of religion, law, and science he is desperate for a deeper understanding of the universe – and for the worldwide fame that it will bring. Risking everything, he conjures the demon Mephistopheles and asks him to strike a deal with Lucifer. Twenty-four years of absolute knowledge and infinite power in exchange for his soul. Despite being tormented by doubt, Faustus agrees to the deal and signs in blood. But as he begins to revel in his new powers, the world around him starts to collapse and the clock inexorably counts down to the final moment of reckoning.

“The Richmond Shakespeare Festival is a summer tradition that screams ‘You’re Very Richmond If’,” says managing director Jase Smith Sullivan. “We return to Agecroft Hall's beautiful Shakespearean Courtyard to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. Arrive early, to explore the gardens and sample local food and beverage trucks on select evenings. The combination of theatre under the stars with the gorgeous surroundings of Agecroft on the James River make for an evening of magic.” 

Tickets for the 25th Anniversary Richmond Shakespeare Festival are on sale now. Visit www.richmondshakespeare.org for more information and to purchase tickets.

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