'Oh, if you knew the lives we women lead

You'd understand the Devil is a catch.'

In this radical reimagining of the classic cautionary tale, Johanna Faustus makes the ultimate sacrifice and sells her soul to wrestle control of her own destiny. She travels through time and changes the course of human history, but can she escape eternal damnation?

Chris Bush's devilishly provocative play Faustus: That Damned Woman is inspired by the works of Marlowe, Goethe and other versions of the Faust myth – and explores what women must sacrifice to achieve greatness, and the legacies that are left behind.

Faustus: That Damned Woman was co-produced by Headlong and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, in association with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, and first performed at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in January 2020 before touring the UK.



Chris Bush is an award-winning playwright, lyricist and theatre-maker. Her other plays include Steel for Sheffield Theatres, an adaptation of Pericles for the National Theatre, The Changing Room for National Theatre Connections, and the musicals The Assassination of Katie Hopkins (with Matt Winkworth) and Standing at the Sky's Edge (with Richard Hawley).



'Original, ambitious and fantastically revisionist'



'With a ruggedly lyrical style, the writing echoes and counterpoints Marlowe's original play but Bush takes the story in exciting new directions... lively and engaging, peppered with humour... an entertaining, lucid piece of storytelling which bursts with ideas and speculation'



'A re-examination of the most famous pact in world literature from a female slant… rich with ideas... Bush's writing abounds with flair and rhythm'