Review: The Tragic Tale of Dr Faustus (Sepulchre Serenade)
Review by Meredith Walker
‘Twas a chilly August night in a former factory of paint
when Anywhere was closing with a show far from quaint.
Instead, bold and dark drama was to behold the Serenade
enthralling those with Faustus knowledge firm and yet to be made.
The question of a soul’s worth becomes the key combine
as we are taken on a unique musical journey that’s surely fine.
A gothic metal opera of blood, poetry, and damnation
means that this Tragic Tale of Dr Faustus is quite the revelation.
An attempt at poetic introduction seems appropriate for a work such as Sepulchre Serenade’s The Tragic Tale of Dr Faustus, which is so richly layered in mullti artistry. The production, appearing as part of the 2025 Anywhere Theatre Festival is not opera and not cabaret, but something self-described far stranger in its collide of dark folk, doom, thrash, horror and haunting classical poetry, and the result is quite beguiling… if metal music can be monikered as beguiling, so much so that its final of three nights saw a number of audience members already making a return visit.
For 80 minutes, audiences are taken through the German legend of Dr Faust (believed to be based on the historical figure Johann Georg Faust), a magician and alchemist, played with relish by the show’s creator David ‘Bud’ Beckett. And while transition sometimes lags as is required for him to move from acoustic to electric guitar, from the booth style staging of the main dramatic action to the downstage section that is the band’s location, his vocals are full of the differing emotions of his character’s story. In particular, his duet with Samantha Wolstenhome, ‘To His Coy Mistress’ is a melodic highlight, thanks also to her operatic high-note haunt of Andrew Marvell’s celebration of youth and beauty.
The folk side of things is immediately apparent as start of show melodies appear to tip into Romanian-like sounds and syncopated rhythms in move from initial lightly lingering cello (Samantha Knutsen) sounds to the drama of Wolstenholme’s serene vocals accompanied by rock of Jason Rousell’s percussion. It’s a motif that is woven throughout, such is the craftedness of the work’s curation, appearing again in the harpsichorded final lament of Faustus.
Wolstenholme is Miranda, betrothed to the wealthy and influential Matthew Hopkins (Kristian James) when Faustus becomes entranced by the beauty of her angelic face, before seducing her with the aid of Mephistophele’s (Adam Markovich) magic. And though the performers attempt to share this dramatic story though dialogue, things are really at their best when they are doing what they do best and conveying things though song.
Even with its essential metal soundtrack characterising things, there is a range of musical moments also melded together, including through the setting of classical poetry to music. William Blake’s ‘The Garden of Love’ and William Shakespeare’s famous ‘Sonnets’, for example, slow things down for emotional contemplation, but also establish the show’s gothic tone as sinister priests roam about (including into the audience) ahead of introduction of Mephistopheles, disguised as a menacingly-masked plague doctor, with a dramatic metal riff accompaniment.
Perhaps due to their unusual appearance in a show such as this, metal numbers are particularly memorable. Whereas James’ ‘The Witch’ accusation of Miranda is a shouty, unsettling narration of Matthew Hopkins‘ jealously, the later ‘The Massacre’ of Faustus’ slaughterous revenge is a dynamic display of intensely energetic musicianship in the creation of a robust sonic landscape. This means that audience members are engaged in the journey throughout, not only in their clap-along add to the percussion of the folk dance ‘Tarantella’ as the story builds in rhythm towards the beginning of the tragic end.
The show’s creatives have done a masterful job in weaving together the musical and also narrative threads of so many classical works, and intertwining them with religious themes and iconography. As Beckett himself notes in the show’s program, this is a work that is “something new, something different, something not quite opera, not quite metal or classical performance, not quite concept album, not quite musical theatre, not quite horror play or cabaret but a little of all of the above,” which makes it a perfect experimental-type inclusion in a festival program and ideal for experience for anyone with interest in any of the above to see it explored anew. Indeed, Sepulchre Serenade’s The Tragic Tale of Dr Faustus, is fascinating, captivating and absolutely unique.