A production of Goethe's classic dramatic play Faust, directed by Lithuanian director Rimas Tuminas, was performed at Wuxi Grand Theatre in Jiangsu province from Jan 3 to 5, receiving an enthusiastic response from audiences.

The cast of Faust acknowledge the audience in Wuxi. Mephistopheles was played by Liao Fan (left) and Faust was played by Yin Zhusheng (right). [Photo from Wuxi Grand Theatre]

During an interview with Faust's producer, Lei Ting, she talked about working with Tuminas, the plays director.

I had seen several of his plays before and really wanted to work with him, and he had wanted to stage Faust for the past 20 years, but never found the right opportunity –– now the play has been produced for a Chinese audience, she says.

Lei Ting, the producer of Faust. [Photo by Zuo Jianan/China Daily]

The play begins with a bet between Mephistopheles (played by Silver Bear-winning actor Liao Fan) and God that he will be able to turn one of his servants, an intelligent scholar named Faust, into an evil man. Faust then signs a contract with Mephistopheles to sell his soul in exchange for unlimited knowledge and pleasure.

The production probably challenges what many people think of Faust, with the director keeping the first half fairly light-hearted, and the second half taking a more serious tone.

Lei says that the audience will find meaning in the play, and that it is particularly relevant to China at the moment, reflecting issues in people's personal lives.

The success of the play is largely down to Tuminas, a winner of the State Prize of the Russian Federation and of the National Prize of Lithuania, who has directed more than 20 plays in different theaters across Lithuania and abroad.

Faust and Marguerite (Zeng Yongti, right). [Photo from Wuxi Grand Theatre]

Lei mentions that the director gave everyone a lot of freedom with the production, and that the actors have been able to add their own ideas to the play, allowing them to take audience feedback into account and fine tune their performances as the production continues its tour.

It is very interesting –– a Lithuanian director has produced a drama in Russian based on a German book, which has since been translated into Chinese. The production truly combines many cultures, even though that was not our original intention, she says.