What strikes you as you enter the auditorium of the Coronet Theatre is Adrian Kohler’s magnificent set for this revival of William Kentridge’s 1995 play Faustus In Africa! It looks like it might be a library or an office, set sometime just after the war, with its bookcases, large bench, and old-school plug-in telephone exchange, and the whole thing towers over the performers. The attention to detail is almost overwhelming and reminded me of the kind of sets you see in a Punchdrunk or Secret Cinema production.
Kentridge, who directs the play, is also listed as Designer and Animation. He is best known as a world-renowned visual artist and animator whose work has been exhibited all over the world, and he had a full-scale exhibition of his work at the Royal Academy in 2022. It’s his animations, projected on a large screen at the back of the set, that support the narrative as it moves locations and tells the much reworked story of how Faustus sells his soul to The Devil, a pact signed in blood overseen by Mephistopheles, as he has gone as far as he could in his thirst for knowledge. Kentridge, a South African, has set his version of Goethe’s dramatic poem Faust in Africa and Faustus’s adventures lead us all over the continent, where at times he seems to be a missionary, adventurer and the instigator (with the help of Mephistopheles) for all sorts of mischief. He seems to be the cause of revolutions, war, enslavement and colonialism – wherever he goes, chaos follows.
The story is told mainly by the use of puppets from the Handspring Puppet Company, although Mephistopheles is played with a suave grace and a knowing glance by the excellent Wessell Pretorius. The rest of the seven-strong cast not only manipulate the puppets but also provide their voices too. All the while, Kentridge’s animations provide the audience with a sense of time and place, and these are aided and abetted by Simon Kohler’s sometimes shuddering sound design and James Phillips and Warrick Sony’s evocative music. At times, the whole production produces a sensory overload that never fails to engage; it’s one of those pieces where, at times, you don’t know where to look as the animations are mesmerising, puppets are paraded in front of them, and dialogue is spoken in a rhyming translation from Robert David Macdonald.
Along the way, we meet Helen, who Faustus lusts after, dictators, brass bands, scientists, a skeletal hyena and a vulture, amongst many others. There are also military parades and Faustus takes part in a safari where he not only shoots animals such as warthogs and buffalos but also the busts of great philosophers and men of letters. Kentridge’s narrative touches on colonialism, the toll slavery takes and how Africa has been exploited over the centuries to enrich the white exploiters.
Faustus in Africa! is not a light or straightforward experience. Its complex narrative, combined with its stark themes, can feel dark and at times unsettling. It challenges audiences to grapple with difficult ideas and theories, all in rhyming couplets and with puppets. It’s not an easy ninety minutes, and at times the pace falters, occasionally coming to a halt. Faustus in Africa! isn’t for everyone, but it certainly will get you thinking and probably a little disturbed by its multi-layered themes and theories.
Review by Alan Fitter
Would you strike a deal with the devil for power, pleasure or profit? Faustus in Africa! follows the ill-fated Faustus on a reckless journey through greed and excess, set on an African safari.
The lure of short term gain tempts us all. It is the burning issue behind the desperate crises threatening our world, increasingly imperilling each successive generation. Thirty years after its original premiere, Faustus in Africa! explores the moral compromises that shape our world.
Handspring Puppet Company
Director, Designer & Animation William Kentridge
Cast Eben Genis, Atandwa Kani, Mongi Mthombeni, Wessel Pretorius, Asanda Rilityana, Buhle Stefane, Jennifer Steyn
Associate Director Lara Foot
Puppetry Directors from Handspring Puppet Company Adrian Kohler & Basil Jones
Rehearsal Director & Associate Puppetry Director Enrico Dau Yang Wey
Puppets & Set Designer Adrian Kohler
Puppet Costume Designers Hazel Maree, Hiltrud von Seidlitz & Phyllis Midlane
Special Effects Designer Simon Dunckley
Translator Robert David Macdonald
Additional text Lesego Rampolokeng
Music James Phillips & Warrick Sony
Sound Designer Simon Kohler
Lighting Designer & Production Management Wesley France
Sound Engineer Tebogo Laaka
Stage Manager & Video Operator Thunyelwa Rachwene
Sound Engineer Tebogo Laaka
Technical Manager Lucile Quinton
Video Controller Kim Gunning
FAUSTUS IN AFRICA!
The Coronet Theatre
5 to 16 November 2025
