A level literature trip to London

A Level literature students enjoyed a whistle stop trip to London this term to see Marlowe’s Faustus at The Wannamaker Theatre.

Female director, Paulette Randall, had decided to cast Faustus and Mephistopheles as female, an unexpected decision which, in the eyes of critics seemed to “liberate the cast” and unlock “the humour nestling in Marlowe’s lofty classic. In the eyes of our students, this decision was perhaps ill-judged, the gender crossing jarring incongruously with the Renaissance setting.

Warmly appreciated, however, were the comedic characters whilst the audience enjoyment of the parade of the Seven Deadly Sins served to remind us all of our fallen state as “fools who laugh on earth” (to quote Lucifer at the end of the text).

Walking back to the minibus under a twilit evening sky, London’s iconic skyline spread before us, the general consensus was that the long journey was more than worthwhile.