Amy Rockson

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, to give it its full title, by Christopher Marlowe, was first published in 1604, at least twelve years after its first performance, although the basic story of the play is much older. Having decided he has accumulated all he can of conventional knowledge, Doctor Faustus turns to magic in a quest for greater truths. Before long, he ends up selling his soul to the devil – the famous “Faustian pact” that has entered everyday language. Dr Faustus gradually realizes his terrible mistake. He apparently repents, but finally dies, the devil coming to collect his soul, and his friends the dismembered body.

Elizabeth Freestone's production of Sheridan's classic is a long way from the lace wristbands and fussily flourished bows that used to be conventional for eighteenth-century revivals. Using the same permanent setting as the production of Doctor Faustus with which it plays in repertoire, plus a traverse curtain for front scenes and the addition of some piles of newspapers on top of its bookcases and some splayed pages down by the added footlights to remind us of contemporary scandal sheets, it moves along at a delightful canter, challenging its audience to keep up with its non-stop flow of wit.

Queen Elizabeth II was the most photographed person ever to have lived. Elizabeth: A Life Through the Lens explores her relationship with the camera, using rarely seen film and photographs to chart how her image changed through seven decades. The film is structured chronologically: the private princess who was never meant to be Queen until fate intervened; ascending to the throne in the first ever televised coronation; being snapped on relentless tours of the commonwealth; and, finally, adapting to the demands of a global audience in the age of mass media. Told through interviews with key royal commentators and historians, Elizabeth: A Life Through the Lens offers new insights. It is a different type of obituary of this most incredible, and adored, global figure.

After years of imprisonment, Morpheus — the King of Dreams — embarks on a journey across worlds to find what was stolen from him and restore his power.

The story of how the young Queen Charlotte’s marriage to King George sparked both a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in Bridgerton.