A-listers Dominic West and Talulah Riley have put on a magnificent performance in Doctor Faustus at a new Kent theatre.

It is hoped the play at The Malthouse in Canterbury will pave the way for more big-name stars to visit the city, spelling an exciting time for the district's theatre scene.

Doctor Faustus' tale is a well-known one: man makes a pact with the devil, trades his soul in exchange for knowledge and power, and predictably things don't end well for him.

It is the magnum opus of Christopher Marlowe, and is being staged today and tomorrow as part of a star-studded series celebrating the work of the Canterbury-born playwright.

Actor Dominic West is best known for his role in The Wire – widely heralded as one of the best TV series ever made – along with The Affair and The Crown.

His performance as Faustus in today's matinee was passionate and urgent – growing increasingly manic towards the end as the doomed scholar's time on earth ticks to an end.

He starred alongside Talulah Riley, known for St Trinians, The Boat That Rocked, and Pride & Prejudice, who gave a brilliantly cold, melancholic performance as the demon Mephistopheles.

Meanwhile Ben Roddy – much-loved stalwart of The Marlowe Theatre where for nearly a decade he has been pantomime dame – was fantastic in roles including Cornelius, the Pope and Wrath.

A master of physical comedy and bawdy deliverance, he had the audience in stitches and provided relief from Faustus' tragedy.

The production – which is running only today and tomorrow – is stripped-back to the extreme.

Notably, the entire thing is performed script-in-hand.

The idea may seem a strange one, but in the hands of such stellar actors it works, and one quickly forgets the paper they are holding.

What's more, rehearsals for the play began only four days ago, on Monday.

The result is not a tired read-through of worn-out lines, but an urgent, energetic performance by every cast member.

The set and costume are also pared-back.

The cast of just nine actors, many of whom play multiple roles, are dressed in muted loose linen clothes, and there are also no real props.

But who needs props, when good actors can pretend just fine without them?

The play forms part of a season called the Marlowe Sessions at Canterbury’s newest theatre, The Malthouse, which cost £13 million to build three years ago at The King's School.

It takes place on a thrust stage – the actors up-close with the audience, frequently walking among them and delivering lines from the auditorium.

Marlowe was born in Canterbury in 1564, to shoemaker John and his wife Katherine in a house on the corner of St George’s Street.

Clearly a gifted child, he gained a scholarship, aged 14, at the King’s School as a chorister and published an impressive range of plays and poems before his death at the age of just 29.

Marlowe Sessions, which began on June 2 and is set to end tomorrow, is covering the Elizabethan author's completed attributed works.

Unfortunately, tomorrow's performance is already sold-out, but fear not.

Executive producer Ray Mia says he is thrilled with the series' success, and hopes to put on a similar run of script-in-hand plays at the same venue next year.

Taking part in a small production such as this – in a relatively unknown theatre outside of London – may seem like a risk for an A-list actor.

But it is one that has paid off remarkably well, and will hopefully see more big names treading the boards in the city in the near future.