Sarah Siddon as Hamlet. Helen Mirren as Prospero (becoming Prospera). And now Cambridge’s own Juliette Imbert as Dr Faustus. It’s fair to say that the most iconic protagonists of the Renaissance period have benefitted from the phenomenon of gender swapping. But the debate remains: should we gender swap them? Whilst Renaissance themes still resonate with audiences around the world, in spite of being hundreds of years old, it’s also true that there is a need to modernise and bring new perspectives into the mix. With the literary greats, Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Webster to name just a few, these iconic plays have always been adapted to reflect the debates of their time. It makes sense that in today’s world, taking another look at the gender dynamics on stage has become the most recent take in adapting these plays.

 “It makes sense that in today’s world, taking another look at the gender dynamics on stage has become the most recent take in adapting these plays”

Most recently, Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus has been added to this conversation, right here at the ADC. Talking to the play’s director, Toby Trusted, gave me more of an insight into the significance that gender swapping the main role can have on the play as a whole.

In spite of the initial plan to keep Dr Faustus as a male protagonist, the audition process led to Toby realising that the play “could really work with a female Dr Faustus.” Naturally, getting the right person to play the part was vital to the production’s success and it soon became obvious that Juliette Imbert was right for the role, opening up new dialogues in the play.

This idea of a dialogue becomes increasingly important throughout the interview. “As a director, so much of what I’m trying to do is to talk to an audience and communicate with them.” Toby raises an interesting point: in order to communicate, an audience has to be invested. They have to feel that there is something within the story that speaks to them. And so much of this is linked to gender swapping these roles.

Toby adds, “you can’t just say that we’ll cast the roles exactly as they would have been in Marlowe’s time. You need to bring it, just a little bit, into the modern world and get people to see themselves in it. I think if you don’t gender swap it, you really miss out on that.” Toby goes on to point out that the play has a rich performance history. And they’re right to do so; Doctor Faustus boasts over 400 years under its belt. So it’s important to look at new ways to “change the dynamics of the characters in ways that are probably new, or haven’t been looked at much” over the period.

“The world of academia is so male-dominated that having a woman academic gives her something more to fight for”

It’s also a great way to keep audiences guessing when it comes to motive. Whilst the original Dr Faustus tends to place the emphasis on pride and ambition, this changes with a gender swap. “When you flip it, you have this sense that the world of academia is so male-dominated that having a woman academic gives her something more to fight for: vengeance […] against the institution.”

Power also seems to be another interesting theme that shifts significantly in this new interpretation. “The power dynamic in this play is really interesting in the first place [...] rooted in a Christian world-view,” leaving a lot of room to explore the challenges that women faced in a society that saw its belief in God as a way to justify its own patriarchal structure.

By having a female Faustus, this question regarding whether or not women of this time period actually had authority is given a new perspective for audiences to relate to, with the play focusing on both moments where Faustus has real power, as well as times when it is simply an illusion. 

This adds another layer to the scenes that see Faustus interact with the rich and powerful. By keeping these characters as men, the audience sees “these male rulers sitting in their old courts, where power has kind of been fossilised and there she comes like a kind of whirlwind, summoning demons and causing chaos.”

This idea of power being “fossilised” struck me as something that can be applied to the plays themselves. When it comes to Shakespeare, Marlowe, or any of the greats, it’s obviously important to stay true to the original play as they dominate the literary canon for good reason. But gender swapping adds something exciting to the production. After all, the original audiences of these plays would never have seen women on stage in a time when acting companies didn’t hire actresses, let alone gender swap the main role.

Whilst this seems far-removed from the theatre scene of today, it is still vital to consider new ways to disrupt the old way of doing things. As Toby puts it, “you’re kind of letting your audiences down if you don’t gender swap it.” They laugh as they add, “that’s quite a brutal way to put it.” And maybe it is, but I can’t help thinking that it’s true.

Doctor Faustus is showing at the ADC Theatre from Tuesday 6th to Saturday 10th May at 7:45 pm, including a matinee performance at 2:30 pm.

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