Headlong and the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre have confirmed the new play from Chris Bush will premiere at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in January 2020.

Caroline Byrne is set to direct the play which draws upon the works of Marlowe, Goethe, and other versions of the Faustus myth that will open at the Lyric Hammersmith in January 2020 before visiting Birmingham Repertory Theatre in February and touring the UK.

My name is Johanna Faustus. I was born almost four hundred years ago.
I gave my soul to achieve the impossible.
I watched this city grow sick and I swore to heal it.
I might be damned, but I would save the world to spite the Devil.

Written by Chris Bush (Standing at the Sky’s Edge), Faustus That Damned Woman asks exactly what we are willing to sacrifice to achieve greatness and the legacy that we leave behind.

This is the first work to be commissioned as part of Headlong and the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre’s long-term commitment to commissioning and producing work of scale by women playwrights.

The creative team for the production will include: set designer Ana Inés Jabares-Pita, costume designer Line Bech, lighting designer Richard Howell, sound and composition designer Giles Thomas and video and projection designer Ian William Galloway.

Chris Bush is an award-winning playwright, lyricist and theatre maker. Her writing credits include Standing at the Sky’s Edge, a collaboration with musician Richard Hawley, Steel (both Sheffield Crucible Theatre), The Assassination of Katie Hopkins (Theatr Clwyd), Pericles (NT) and The Changing Room (NT Connections).

Caroline Byrne’s theatre credits include Spring Awakening (Young Vic), All’s Well That Ends Well (Sam Wanamaker Theatre), Katie Roche (Abbey Theatre, Dublin) Oliver Twist (Regents Park) and Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre). Her upcoming work includes Portia Coughlan starring Ruth Negga (Young Vic).

Faustus: That Damned Woman will play at the Lyric Hammersmith from the 23rd January until the 22nd February before playing at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 26 February. It will then tour the UK, visiting Bristol Old Vic, Leeds Playhouse and Northern Stage throughout March and April 2020.