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Faustus In Africa!

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William Kentridge & Handspring Puppet Company

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Internationally renowned artist and filmmaker William Kentridge returns to The Coronet Theatre with the London Premiere of Faustus in Africa!, in collaboration with the celebrated Handspring Puppet Company (War Horse)

Would you strike a deal with the devil for power, pleasure or profit? Faustus in Africa! follows the ill-fated Faustus on a reckless journey through greed and excess, set on an African safari. 

The lure of short term gain tempts us all. It is the burning issue behind the desperate crises threatening our world, increasingly imperilling each successive generation. Thirty years after its original premiere, Faustus in Africa! explores the moral compromises that shape our world. 

This bold re-working of Handspring Puppet Company’s award-winning production combines puppetry, Kentridge’s unparalleled animations and a haunting score in exhilarating multi-disciplinary storytelling.

 

Cast and Creatives

Handspring Puppet Company

Director, Designer & Animation
William Kentridge

Cast
Eben Genis, Atandwa Kani, Mongi Mthombeni, Wessel Pretorius, Asanda Rilityana, Buhle Stefane, Jennifer Steyn

Associate Director
Lara Foot

Puppetry Directors from Handspring Puppet Company
Adrian Kohler & Basil Jones

Rehearsal Director & Associate Puppetry Director
Enrico Dau Yang Wey

Puppets & Set Designer
Adrian Kohler

Puppet Costume Designers
Hazel Maree, Hiltrud von Seidlitz & Phyllis Midlane

Special Effects Designer
Simon Dunckley

Translator
Robert David Macdonald

Additional text
Lesego Rampolokeng

Music
James Phillips & Warrick Sony

Sound Designer
Simon Kohler

Lighting Designer & Production Management
Wesley France

Sound Engineer
Tebogo Laaka

Stage Manager & Video Operator
Thunyelwa Rachwene

Sound Engineer
Tebogo Laaka

Technical Manager
Lucile Quinton

Video Controller
Kim Gunning

The 2025 version is produced by Quaternaire/Paris and restaged with support from co-commissioner Théâtre de la Ville/Festival d’Automne (Paris)

Co-producers
The Baxter Theatre Centre at the University of Cape Town (Cape Town), Centre d’art Battat (Montreal), Cité européenne du théâtre – Domaine d’O – Montpellier / PCM2025 (Montpellier), Fondazione Campania dei Festival – Campania Teatro Festival (Naples), Grec Festival (Barcelona), Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), Thalia Theater (Hamburg).

 

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Book tickets

Genre:

Theatre

Performances:

Wed 05 – Sun 16 Nov; 7:30pm

Sat 8 & Sat 15 Nov; 2:30pm

Auditorium

Running Time:

Approx 90 mins with no interval

Age Guidance:

12+

Content Advisory:

Contains flashing lights, gunshots and graphic themes and imagery.

Contact Box Office for more info

Tickets:

£80, £60, £40, £30, £20 standard

Up to 20% off for members

Concessions

Group Offer

Access Information

Genre:

Theatre

Performances:

Wed 05 – Sun 16 Nov; 7:30pm

Sat 8 & Sat 15 Nov; 2:30pm

Auditorium

Running Time:

Approx 90 mins with no interval

Age Guidance:

12+

Content Advisory:

Contains flashing lights, gunshots and graphic themes and imagery.

Contact Box Office for more info

Tickets:

£80, £60, £40, £30, £20 standard

Up to 20% off for members

Concessions

Group Offer

Access Information

Additional Information

Photos: Fiona MacPherson

 

William Kentridge
William Kentridge, internationally acclaimed for his prints, drawings, films, and theatre productions. Combining drawing, writing, film, performance, music, theatre, and collaborative practices to create works of art grounded in politics, science, literature, and history yet maintaining a space for contradiction and uncertainty. Kentridge’s work has been seen in museums and galleries around the world. His theatrical productions include Refuse the Hour, Winterreise, Paper Music, The Head & the Load, Ursonate, Waiting for the Sibyl, and in collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company Ubu & the Truth Commission, Faustus in Africa, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse, and Woyzeck on the Highveld.

 

Handspring Puppet Company
Handspring Puppet Company was founded by Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones in 1981, Handspring continues to explore innovate puppetry in contemporary performance. Deeply influenced by the Bunraku puppeteers of Japan and the Bamana puppeteers of Mali Handspring fuses extraordinary craft with modern dramatic themes.

Handspring’s life-size horses commissioned by the National Theatre in London for War Horse have established them as one of the most important puppetry companies in the world. In 2021 Little Amal captured global attention in unprecedented public performances across Europe. Their key principles of breath and humanity have informed the work that has unfolded over four decades.