When theatre audiences first saw Marlowe’s Dr Faustus exchange his soul for 24 years of worldly pleasures, they were horrified and terrified in equal part. Numerous writers and artists have borrowed and adapted the famous story from Goethe’s plays and Berlioz’s opera to Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray and Brian Cranston’s television hit Breaking Bad. This lecture explores the origins of the extraordinary story and what the interpretations show us about our attitude to sin, pleasure and the afterlife.
Mary Sharp is an experienced broadcaster and teacher with particular expertise in literature and drama. She worked for many years for BBC Radio 4 producing some of its most popular programmes, including Start the Week and Woman’s Hour, before joining the senior management team as a Commissioning Editor.
