Summer festivals on the 100th performance of ‘Faust’ parts I and II

The Goetheanum Stage will hold three summer festivals in July 2026 to celebrate its 100th performance of Johann Wolfgang Goethe‘s ‘Faust I and II’ since the premiere of the unabridged version in 1938.

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The nine-hour production, staged over two or three days, flows well as the scenes move seamlessly from one to the next. The language is rich, adhering close to Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s original words. As rich as the story: Faust’s journeys to the underworld and to heavenly heights, his encounters with the devil, angels and the most beautiful woman are presented with poetic intensity.

The staging of ‘Faust’ parts I and II has been an essential aspect of the Goetheanum Stage since 1938. According to Carl Gustav Jung, Faust is the myth of the modern human being and therefore provides answers to the question of where the soul can turn in its search for itself. “In theatre, this answer sounds different to each person in the audience. It emerges when the feelings and thoughts of the performers unite with the content,” says Andrea Pfaehler, the director, describing the magic of theatre. She has been staging ‘Faust I and II’ at the Goetheanum since 2020, and since 2025 together with Rafael Tavares as director of eurythmy.

The play covers themes ranging from a laboratory for the creation of artificial humans back to antiquity and to the beginning of creation. “From heaven he demands the most beautiful stars / And from earth every highest pleasure,” Mephistopheles says of Faust. “Myth of the modern human being” means that lofty goals and the pact with darkness are closely intertwined. The acting and eurythmy bring this interplay between the inner and outer worlds to light.

The 100th performance of ‘Faust’ parts I and II at the Goetheanum! The Goetheanum Stage will celebrate this event with three summer festivals on the Dornach hill, where the world premiere of the unabridged ‘Faust I and II’ took place in 1938.

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