Chris Noth stars in Marlowe's cautionary tale

Outside of Shakespeare's oeuvre, Doctor Faustus is the Elizabethan age's most famous work. Telling the tale of an ambitious scholar who forms a pact with the devil, the play marries the real and supernatural realms in a work that encompasses the Renaissance's key themes of sin, theology and science. It was a piece that scandalized audiences in its days, and continues to a point of fervent critical analysis to this day.

The Classic Stage Company presents a brand new staging of Doctor Faustus this May through July. In the lead role is Chris Noth, currently starring in The Good Wife, but perhaps still best known as the enigmatic and charming Mr Big from HBO's Sex and the City. Alongside him is fellow The Good Wife actor Zach Grenier, with Andrei Belgrader (The Cherry Orchard) in the director's chair.

What is Doctor Faustus About?

An academic of dizzying ability, the German scholar Doctor Faustus has arrived at the limits of knowledge that his traditional study allows. Hungry for more, he takes up the practise of magic and conjures up a devil in the form of Mephastopholis. Seeing that trading in the dark arts can bring him unimaginable wealth and fame, Faustus sends Mephastophilis away to his master Lucifer armed with an offer. Grant Faustus absolute power for twenty four years and afterwards he will relinquish his soul to Lucifer for an eternity in damnation.