One actor. Every character. Goethe’s complete Faust.
Austrian actor and theatre maker Max Pfnür takes on one of the most ambitious works in world literature: Goethe’s Faust – Parts I & II, performed entirely as a solo.
Pfnür transforms between more than twenty characters — Faust, Mephistopheles, Gretchen, the Emperor, witches, scholars, gods and demons — creating an entire theatrical universe through a single performer. With minimal scenery, an intricate soundscape, expressive lighting and projections, the production relies on transformation, physicality and the audience’s imagination.
At its heart, Faust is the story of a man unwilling to accept any limit — of knowledge, experience, ambition or power. His relentless desire to possess the world leads from a pact with the devil and the tragedy of Gretchen to politics, war, classical mythology and ultimately an attempt to conquer nature itself.
The production preserves Goethe’s original German, while specially integrated English surtitles make the performance accessible to an international audience without sacrificing the rhythm and musicality of Goethe’s language.
Following its premiere in Salzburg, the production received the Second Jury Prize at the Heidelberger Theatertage. The jury praised it as “a remarkable act of theatrical courage” and “an astonishing display of transformation and stage presence.”
An intimate yet epic encounter with one of literature’s great masterpieces — and an extraordinary feat of solo performance.