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| How the cutting off of hands was depicted in this production |
Horrific. Foul. Gratuitously violent. Sadistic. Gut-wrenchingly awful. Full of vengeance. Enough to make you despair of humanity.
OK, enough about Leave voters, what about Titus Andronicus?*
OK, enough about Leave voters, what about Titus Andronicus?*
Titus was another play I only went to see in order to achieve my goal of seeing all of the Bard's plays. I studied it at university and hated it because of its being all of the adjectives above. It's one of Shakespeare's early plays and I feel that a certain amount of macho posturing went into the writing of it.
As it turned out, Jung Han Kim's production turned out to be one of the best possible versions of Titus Andronicus I could have seen as a deplorer of extreme violence. It was highly conceptual, artistic and unpredictable, with each tiny movement carefully crafted and choreographed. The severed heads of Titus' sons were represented by head-shaped scrunched up bits of newspaper, and the cutting off of hands was shown through the pressing of hands into trays of blue paint. The production included the kinds of things that are usually included in parodies of 'artsy' plays - actors barking like dogs and writhing around on top of each other; drinking water from bottles and spewing the water into buckets (repeatedly); smearing blue paint across faces; tossing newspapers up into the air; a disgusting scene showing Tamora, Queen of the Goths, giving birth to a poo - BUT it all somehow 'worked'. [Apart from possibly the poo scene.] I was absorbed for the entire thing, alternately disgusted, horrified and moved.
The scene depicting the rape and mutilation of Lavinia (Miranda Shrapnell) was harrowing and distressing to watch (even without fake blood) as I suppose it should be. The rapist sons of Tamora were truly animalistic. One couldn't help hoping that they would get their comeuppance - which of course, they did, in a horrible fashion. Seeing Lavinia stumble home after her ordeal was heartbreaking. I was impressed with the cast of eight, three of whom played more than one role - very different roles - and two women played men. Charles Sandford was sympathetic as the hapless Titus and Laura Hopwood chilling as the psychopathic Tamora. The part where she ate the infamous piece of pie containing the remains of her sons was memorable - it was basically three or so minutes of her just eating...and savouring.
The Rose Playhouse, site of the Rose Theatre, built in 1587, is an archaeological site. It was the perfect location for Titus Andronicus: dark, cavernous, sparse. Most of the play took place on the viewing platform, with the shadowy, watery, concrete-y archaeological area behind, but at one point the actors ran out to an area at the back of the archaeological site, from which their voices echoed. It was very atmospheric. I would definitely recommend seeing a play at The Rose.
As it turned out, Jung Han Kim's production turned out to be one of the best possible versions of Titus Andronicus I could have seen as a deplorer of extreme violence. It was highly conceptual, artistic and unpredictable, with each tiny movement carefully crafted and choreographed. The severed heads of Titus' sons were represented by head-shaped scrunched up bits of newspaper, and the cutting off of hands was shown through the pressing of hands into trays of blue paint. The production included the kinds of things that are usually included in parodies of 'artsy' plays - actors barking like dogs and writhing around on top of each other; drinking water from bottles and spewing the water into buckets (repeatedly); smearing blue paint across faces; tossing newspapers up into the air; a disgusting scene showing Tamora, Queen of the Goths, giving birth to a poo - BUT it all somehow 'worked'. [Apart from possibly the poo scene.] I was absorbed for the entire thing, alternately disgusted, horrified and moved.
The scene depicting the rape and mutilation of Lavinia (Miranda Shrapnell) was harrowing and distressing to watch (even without fake blood) as I suppose it should be. The rapist sons of Tamora were truly animalistic. One couldn't help hoping that they would get their comeuppance - which of course, they did, in a horrible fashion. Seeing Lavinia stumble home after her ordeal was heartbreaking. I was impressed with the cast of eight, three of whom played more than one role - very different roles - and two women played men. Charles Sandford was sympathetic as the hapless Titus and Laura Hopwood chilling as the psychopathic Tamora. The part where she ate the infamous piece of pie containing the remains of her sons was memorable - it was basically three or so minutes of her just eating...and savouring.
The Rose Playhouse, site of the Rose Theatre, built in 1587, is an archaeological site. It was the perfect location for Titus Andronicus: dark, cavernous, sparse. Most of the play took place on the viewing platform, with the shadowy, watery, concrete-y archaeological area behind, but at one point the actors ran out to an area at the back of the archaeological site, from which their voices echoed. It was very atmospheric. I would definitely recommend seeing a play at The Rose.
*A late referendum joke, I know, but it made me giggle. I don't really think you're as bad as that, Leave voters.
Next: Pride and Prejudice
photo credit: Blue via photopin (license)
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