Thrilled by Faustus That Damned Woman at Lyric Hammersmith

Because of its convenient location, Lyric Hammersmith is one of the theatres that I go to most regularly and it does not take much to get me there. Which is another way of saying that I cannot quite remember now why I booked to see Faustus That Damned Woman.

I must have booked early because my seat was right in the centre, of the Dress Circle A14 for an incredibly modest £20.2.

But first I had to eat and for the first time I went to both Lyric Cafe on the ground floor and Lyric Bar & Grill on the first. In the cafe I had a coffee and some cake to take the edge off the afternoon before going upstairs for a vegan burger (it was Veganuary) and a cautious half of 5% Crazy Horse chosen because that was the name of Neil Young's main backing band.

As soon as sat down my view of the stage told me that I was in for something different. I was already excited.

I knew some of the bare bones of the Faust legend but that neither helped nor hindered me. The core element, selling your soul to the devil, was there but that was about it.

The deal having been struck we followed Faustus over the centuries as she tried to make her side of the deal count for something. In this she was joined by a jovial daemon dressed in white and was helped by two prominent women pioneers.

The story was articulate, intelligent and entertaining and so did not need an special effects to help it along. But it got them anyway and they made a good play something really impressive. The stage stayed much the same and the clever things were dome with lights, sounds and projections.

Faustus That Damned Woman was a tapestry of delights with a strong story skilfully embellished by the staging and the acting. Everything about the production thrilled and excited.