A Chinese version of the Faust drama has recently been released in Beijing on Oct.16.

Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend, based on the historical Johann Georg Faust. The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures.

Faust is bored and depressed with his life as a scholar. After an attempt to take his own life, he calls on the Devil for further knowledge and magic powers with which to indulge all the pleasure and knowledge of the world. In response, the Devil's representative, Mephistopheles, appears. He makes a bargain with Faust: Mephistopheles will serve Faust with his magic powers for a set number of years, but at the end of the term, the Devil will claim Faust's soul, and Faust will be eternally enslaved.

During the term of the bargain, Faust makes use of Mephistopheles in various ways. In Goethe's drama and many subsequent versions of the story, Mephistopheles helps Faust seduce a beautiful and innocent girl, usually named Gretchen, whose life is ultimately destroyed when she gives birth to Faust's bastard son. Realizing this unholy act, she drowns the child and is held for murder. However, Gretchen's innocence saves her in the end, and she enters Heaven after execution. In Goethe's rendition, Faust is saved by God via his constant striving — in combination with Gretchen's pleadings with God in the form of the eternal feminine. However, in the early tales, Faust is irrevocably corrupted and believes his sins cannot be forgiven; when the term ends, the Devil carries him off to Hell.

About the director:

Rimas Tuminas is a Lithuanian theater director. He was awarded the State Prize of Russia in 1999. Since 2007 he has been the Artistic Director of the Moscow Vakhtangov theatre. With Tuminas, the Vakhtangov Theatre occupied a leading position among the Russian theaters. In 2011, the theater was recognized as the most visited theater in Moscow.

Cast:

Faust: Yin Zhusheng

Mephistopheles: Liao Fan is a Chinese film and theatre actor. In February 2014, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival for his performance in the film Black Coal, Thin Ice.

The drama will be staged in Hangzhou in December. The tickets selling begins from 10:20, Oct.23, and the audience can enjoy a 5% discount during the pre-sale period (Oct.16 to 22) via the Wechat Mini-program of Hangzhou Grand Theater.

Time: 19:30, Dec.25 - 27 

Venue: Hangzhou Grand Theater 

Ticket Price: 180/280/480/680/880/1080