One can hardly see anything better than Pandur’s “Faust”. It contains theatrical point, mirth, and, above all, a contemporary critical consciousness that does not impose on anyone. A brilliant spectacle.
Natalija Vagapova (Moscow) at the MES Festival, 1990.


Is Faust not doomed to the everlasting presence of the Universe surrounding him? Is he God, a slave, Prometheus or Christ, Narcissus, Dedalus or Hiob? Faust the director Tomaz Pandur has carved out Goethe’s wonder-rock is all that.
Neva Skapin Slibar, “Theater Heute”, 1991, Berlin, Germany.

 

Faust is born out of water. Rooted in stone and holding two Parmenides’s balls in his hands, he catches sight of himself in the water: in his left hand this, in his right hand the other world. In spite of everything, a human hand is not strong enough to unite both worlds into one.
Sergej Pristas, “Oko”, 1990. Zagreb, Croatia.

 

A philosophical treatise on the ability and inability of man to surpass himself. Faust’s fate and desire are raised into the cosmic sphere.
Risto Vitanov, “Nedjelja”, 1990. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

It seems that we have joined Tomaz Pandur in his dream about an endless play, without knowing when it is time to wake up.
Reyna Barrera Lopez, “Uno mas uno”, 1991. Mexico City, Mexico.

 

For Tomaz Pandur “Faust” is a true creative and intellectual provocation he consents to with the execution of minute study of every detail, every conceptual background, every meaning, eavesdropping on their echo in time and contemporary reception.
Nermina Kurspahic, “Odjek”, 1990. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

When translating the signs of ideas, symbols, and metaphors into scenic illusion, Pandur’s visual fantasy is incredibly precise. Undoubtedly a great theatrical event — “Faust” for the world.
Boris B. Hrovat, “Studio”, 1990. Zagreb, Croatia.

 

The Maribor staging of Goethe’s tragedy about Faust and Margaret is, in every respect, a heroic artistic deed. above all it is an objectification of “the theatre of the world”, composed of luxurious images that reveal highly standardized emblems of beauty. Thus, about the Maribor “Faust”, it remains to be written, consciously and without pathos: a Holiday.
Vasja Predan, “Nasi razgledi”, 1990. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

 

In amniotic liquid, magma and esmeralda, a lymphatic chimera; alchemy, a hallucinating and hallucinogenic discourse. Some thirty Slovenian actors give body, magic, volume, room, smoke and air to the performance. an entire human tragedy, a spiritual miracle, a great alertness, an attempt to find the truth, a burning philosophical issue, a poetic apotheosis, all come to life in one of the monumental occidental texts. Pandur opens the space of magic, music, and intimate landscapes ruled by fantastic creatures, nymphs, sirens, sphinxes, and apparitions.
Pablo Espinosa, “La Jornada”, 1991. Mexico City, Mexico.

 

The strong sense of ensemble enables the group to create dream sequences of color and light.
Astrid Hoyer, “Neue Ruhr Zeitung”, 1991. Mülheim, Germany.

 

Tomaz Pandur’s directorial imagination shapes and reshapes itself into unrepeatable images, metaphors, meaning, dynamic impulsiveness, and poetic perfection found only in masterpieces.
Vojislav Vujanovic, “Vecernje novine”, 1990. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

This staging of “Faust” is the artist’s confrontation with the greatest of European myths, the myth of the European Everyman trying to reach perfection. The myth of happiness, of everlasting youth, of the moment of man’s reaching the climax of his self-content.
Jovan Cirilov, Bitef Festival, 1990. Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

 

The artistic creations of its protagonists enabled this exacting and suggestive production to materialize into something verging on perfection. The Maribor “Faust” functions as an optimistic revelation.
Zdislaw Piotr Gwozdz, “Die Bühne”, 1990. Vienna, Austria.

 

All these fantastic, but thematically valid and emotionally enthralling incidents are woven into a rich theatrical tapestry by the unifying artistic vision of director Tomaz Pandur, who brings the spirit of Goethe vividly to life on the stage and makes him our eternal, universal contemporary, like Shakespeare. It is one of the most sensational stage productions I have ever seen.

John Maxim, “The Sun”, 1991. Mexico City, Mexico.