In a new version by Dan Farrelly

€10

ISBN 0-9534257-0-3

Goethe (1749-1832) has been recognized as one of the greatest literary figures in the history of Europe. In his early twenties he wrote his "Werther" novel which gave him international status equivalent to that of today's pop stars. Young people all over Europe dressed in the yellow and blue colours of the young, love-lorn suicidal hero of the novel. It was a case of "Werther fever".

Goethe began his "Faust" drama about the same time as "Werther". The actual fragment dating from that time is now known as "Urfaust". It has all the marks of its rebellious, creative, passionate young author. It takes up a story which was deeply rooted in German folklore since around 1500: the scholar's pact with the devil. By introducing the romance between Faust and Gretchen, Goethe put his own particular stamp on the story. Eventually his drama became famous as "Faust Part One", to which he also added a "Faust Part Two". As Goethe grew older he became, in the eyes of the German middle class, an establishment figure with almost untouchable literary status.

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), the revolutionary German playwright and director, was never inclined to show respect to established literary figures. Instead of staging Goethe's famous "Faust Part One", he was excited by the prospect of working with the fragmentary "Urfaust". He could sew the bits together the way he wanted and put a whole new slant on the play. He interpreted the brilliant characters - Faust, Mephisto, and Gretchen - in his own way.

Brecht staged the play in East Germany in 1952 and a revised version of it in 1953 - the latter in the Berliner Ensemble. His interpretation was so revolutionary that the authorities closed the play down after only a handful of performances. The revered Faust character, with his high-minded, idealistic striving, was now being portrayed as a renegade peasant. A traitor to his own people, he had sided with the princes during the Peasants' Revolt.