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| SEE ALSO | | Guide to Oxford's theatre venues Live music roundup
Clubbing roundup Festival calendar Clash of the cities: the race to become Capital of Culture | | WEB LINKS | | The Mill Community Education and Arts Centre,
Spiceball Park,
Banbury,
Oxon,
OX16 5QE
The Mill The Oxford Apollo, George Street, Oxford, OX1 2AG
Tel: 0870 606 3500 The Oxford Playhouse
Beaumont Street
Oxford
Ox1 2LW
Tel 01865 305305 Oxford Playhouse Pegasus Theatre
Magdalen Road
Oxford OX4 1RE
Tel 01865 792209
Pegasus Theatre
Burton Taylor Theatre
Gloucester Street, Oxford
OX1 2BN
Tel: 01865 305 305
Burton Taylor Theatre Old Fire Station Theatre
40 George Street, Oxford
OX1 2AQ
Tel: 01865 297 170 The Jericho Comedy Club
Upstairs at the Jericho Tavern, 56 Walton Street,
Jericho, Oxford OX2 6AE
Tel:01865 311 775
The Jericho Comedy Club Modern Art Oxford
Admission is Free
Open: Tues - Sat 10:00-17:00, Sun 12:00-17:00, closed Mon. Late openings on event nights
Modern Art Oxford
Tel. 01865 722733 Recorded info 01865 813830
The Mill at Sonning
Sonning Eye, near Reading
0118 969 8000 Friends Meeting House, 42 St Giles, Oxford
Unicorn Theatre, Checker Walk, Abingdon
Jongleurs Comedy Club, 3-5 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford, OX1 2EW.
Jongleurs Railway Inn
A415 Culham
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
Tel: 01367 710 593 Music at Oxford
Box Office:
Tel: 0870 7500659
River and Rowing Museum
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| | By Rebecca Ting Goethe's Faust never seemed to be the most obvious inspiration for a puppet show, but then to crudely label The Basement Theatre's production as a mere 'puppet show' would be a travesty. The one night show at the Playhouse involved 11 puppeteers, three actors and a host of Georgian puppets. And they were not just your average jerky string puppets. They were dynamic, each one animated by three puppeteers, and capable of producing highly convincing and subtle life-like movements. The characterisation was wonderful, with a saucy boudoir Martha, a parade of increasingly imaginative and grotesque demons and the devilish Mephistopheles portrayed as an all-singing, all-dancing smooth operator in a stripy tie. As the plot unfolded, it was impossible not to be in some way affected by Gretchen's sadness, and Faust's impossible predicament. The more frantic scenes saw the puppeteers weaving skillfully through, around and under each others arms to manoeuvre the puppets into a succession of increasingly complex gestures of despair and loss. The puppeteers themselves were dressed in black, but from time to time in your peripheral vision you caught a glimpse of their faces or hands moving behind the puppets and far from ruining the action, they instead contributed to a surreal and dreamlike atmosphere. The soundtrack complemented the action perfectly, with the Green Witch and Martha sauntering seductively to equally saucy music and Prokofiev's 'Montagues and Capulets' fitting perfectly to Faust's experience in the Forest of Demons. Initial worries at not understanding the Georgian dialogue were soon put to rest. A detailed plot synopsis, the emotive music and the gestures and feelings of the characters expressed in minute detail the complexities of the play. This production was a stunning and memorable performance, touching in its sadness, yet supremely witty. At the end, the puppeteers come to take their bows and were applauded for a full five minutes - the audience learnt that hands can say more than words.
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