Faust in Puppet Theatre in Slovakia
Johannes Faust is not only the best known, but also the most popular play performed by nearly all travelling folk puppeteers from the 17th till the 19th century
Photograph of the brothers Nosálek posing in front of their theatre (1900/1910) by unknownThe Theatre Institute
Faust and the travelling puppeteers
From among the Slovak travelling puppeteers, Faust was in the repertory of the families Stražan, Dubský, Anderle, ...
... and Nosálek.
The stories about Faust were performed using marionettes.
A comic character – a servant called the Little Fool – was always part of the story.
The puppeteers invited people to see their performances using printed or hand-painted posters.
Theatre texts about Faust from the book Comedians – Nomads – Puppeteers (2006) by Ida Hledíková-PolívkováThe Theatre Institute
Each family adapted the story of Johannes Faust in their own way. That particular version of the story would then be used by the subsequent generations. The texts varied in their length, sequence of scenes, and even the number of characters.
Family puppet theatre (1918) by Rudolf LivoraThe Theatre Institute
Family puppet theatres
The story of Faust was included in the repertory of so-called family puppet theatres that emerged on the Czech and Slovak territories in early 20th century.
Serially produced family puppet theatre using the design by Rudolf Livora (early 20th century).
Faust in Slovak professional puppet theatres
Professional puppet theatremakers also felt attracted by the Faust story. The first to tackle the challenge were artists from the Košice Puppet Theatre in 1979. They worked with the funny play by Kamil Bednář Johannes Doctor Faust, written in verse and re-telling a folk tale preserved in Czech poetic art.
Eminent Slovak puppet artist Jana Pogorielová created the visual design of the production.
Marionette of Faust, Kamil Bednář: Johannes Doctor Faust (1979) by Jana PogorielováThe Theatre Institute
Kamil Bednář: Johannes Doctor Faust
Marionette of Faust.
Marionette of the Devil, Kamil Bednář: Johannes Doctor Faust (1979) by Jana PogorielováThe Theatre Institute
Kamil Bednář: Johannes Doctor Faust
Marionette of the Devil.
Marionette of the Raven, Kamil Bednář: Johannes Doctor Faust (1979) by Jana PogorielováThe Theatre Institute
Kamil Bednář: Johannes Doctor Faust
Marionette of the Raven.
Production photograph 1, Kamil Bednář: Johannes Doctor Faust (1979) by Mária Pružinská LitawskáThe Theatre Institute
Kamil Bednář: Johannes Doctor Faust
Director Bedřich Svatoň placed the story in an Art Nouveau castle, where the people at the court decided to play a mediaeval legend.
Production photograph 2, Kamil Bednář: Johannes Doctor Faust (1979) by Mária Pružinská LitawskáThe Theatre Institute
Kamil Bednář: Johannes Doctor Faust
It was a play about a play – on the puppet level, it was the story of Faust, while on the level of live acting, it was about presenting the well-known drama.
I. Škripková: Johannes Doctor Faust, or the Bride from Hell
The second production of Faust made by a professional puppet theatre was the half-romantic, half-magical fairy story based on the texts by old Czech puppeteers. A play in five acts and three interludes, titled Johannes Doctor Faust, or the Bride from Hell was produced by the Puppet Theatre on the Crossroads in the 1992–1993 season.
Production photograph 1, Iveta Škripková: Johannes Doctor Faust, or the Bride from Hell (1992) by René MikoThe Theatre Institute
Author Iveta Škripková wrote the script based on the historical texts, but she consciously drew away from them.
Production photograph 2, Iveta Škripková: Johannes Doctor Faust, or the Bride from Hell (1992) by Jozef LomnickýThe Theatre Institute
She changed the main conflict, the struggle between two forces – heaven and hell – into a relationship between a man and a woman.
Production photograph 3, Iveta Škripková: Johannes Doctor Faust, or the Bride from Hell (1992) by Jozef LomnickýThe Theatre Institute
It was a woman who was both the temptress and Mephistopheles.
Faust was presented in Banská Bystrica using the precious, century-old marionettes which were originally owned by the Stražan-Anderle families of travelling puppeteers. The marionettes were lent to the theatre by the Literary Museum of the Slovak National Library in Martin.
Marlowe – Goethe – Gontko – Spišák: Faust
The 1995 production of Faust in the Old Theatre in Nitra did not base its staging on the texts for the puppet theatre production, but it relied on the work of Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Christopher Marlowe.
Production photograph 1, Marlowe – Goethe – Gontko – Spišák: Faust (1995) by Matúš OľhaThe Theatre Institute
Director Ondrej Spišák staged the Faustian story in an unconventional production.
Production photograph 2, Marlowe – Goethe – Gontko – Spišák: Faust (1995) by Matúš OľhaThe Theatre Institute
Young Faust, who craves knowledge, signs a deal with the Devil and experiences the hell of drug addiction.
Production photograph 3, Marlowe – Goethe – Gontko – Spišák: Faust (1995) by Matúš OľhaThe Theatre Institute
The production was intended for teenagers.
Gejza Dezorz: The Mischievous Ways of the Fool
In the production titled The Mischievous Ways of the Fool, or the Erotic Adventures of Bob de Niro, the artists from the Dezorz's Puppet Theatre were loosely inspired by the Faustian story. Thematically and formally, the production linked the traditional with the modern, the high with the low.
Production photograph 1, Gejza Dezorz: The Mischievous Ways of the Fool (2010) by Július DúbravayThe Theatre Institute
It confirmed the theatre’s inclination to multiculturalism as well as the tendency to mix subculture elements with themes from classical literature.
Production photograph 2, Gejza Dezorz: The Mischievous Ways of the Fool (2010) by Július DúbravayThe Theatre Institute
In the production, references to traditional travelling puppeteers were connected with modern technologies, or allusions to popular culture and current consumer lifestyle.
Gejza Dezorz: Johannes Faust
Since 2011, Dezorz's Puppet Theatre has performed several titles of the traditional repertory of travelling puppeteers as part of the Slovak Marionette Theatre project, including Johannes Faust.
Production photograph 1, Gejza Dezorz: Johannes Faust (2011) by Jozef PáleníkThe Theatre Institute
The witty and humorous play Johannes Faust about the limits of human knowledge is unique for the appeal if the puppeteering performance – there is magic, fire, and the terrifying amusement of the little devils who take Faust to hell.
Production photograph 2, Gejza Dezorz: Johannes Faust (2011) by Jozef PáleníkThe Theatre Institute
Production photograph 3, Gejza Dezorz: Johannes Faust (2011) by Jozef PáleníkThe Theatre Institute
Take a moment to watch a sample of the production Johannes Faust. It symbolically summarizes the production tradition of staging Faust in puppet theatres in Slovakia from travelling puppeteers of the 19th century to current puppet theatre.
Authors: Barbora Krajč Zamišková, Dominika Zaťková
Slovak proofreading: Mária Kvaššayová
English translation: Ivan Lacko
Editor: Vladislava Fekete
Production: Marko Popović
In cooperation with: Dezorz Puppet Theatre, Juraj Hamar
The Theatre Institute has made all possible efforts to identify the authors of the graphic or photographic works used in this publication, as well as to obtain legal permission for their use. If you are the holder of the rights to any of the works used herein, please contact the Theatre Institute: du@theatre.sk.
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