By Alan
Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare
Available until: Unknown
Content warning: This play is recommended for 16+ and contains some very sensitive content including violence, rape and murder which is done very realistically even on Zoom. If you think this play might not be for you, watch one of the others by Shake-Scene instead. You get sensitive people of all different ages and that’s totally fine. But if it is your sort of thing then watch it because it’s a good production.
Additional Warning: Maybe don’t watch this if you’re eating. Especially not if it’s pie.
Titus Andronicus is kind of a history play but kind of not. It had lots of different sources and most of them were myths and legends. Lavinia’s story comes from Metamorphosis by Ovid but it’s not like a retelling of the story because the Metamorphosis story is mentioned in Titus.
Some historians have tried to work out exactly when it is set but it’s not easy. The prose version of the play was set in the late 4th century but the evidence suggests the actual play was set in the 6th century… maybe. The war against the Goths did happen but Jonathan Bate says it was much longer in real life than it was in Shakespeare and T. J. B. Spencer says Shakespeare includes several events that were real but they didn’t really happen at the same time.
Part of the final scene (where Titus asks Saturninus
if a father should kill his daughter if she was the victim of a really awful
crime… um NO) probably came from a book called Ab urbe condita or History of
Rome by Titus Livius. He’s known in the UK as Livy. He lived in Rome when
different Roman Emperors were in power but he wasn’t that important. He was
probably like whatever they called fanboys in Roman times.
Livy was very passionate about history like me but
also like me he did get things wrong sometimes. Some of the stories which he
calls history are actually myths (but to be fair maybe Livy believed they were
true.) Jona Lendering says Livy’s version of Coriolanus definitely isn’t
true. Livy said Coriolanus got his name from a village he had a victory over
and no one was doing that till a century later. Also Livy says Coriolanus is an
aristocrat but his real name is a plebian name not an aristocratic name. So Livy
is really not the most reliable and he might have got other stuff wrong, including the parts of his work that were used for Titus.
Also Livy got lots of his information from other
people’s historical writing which is totally ok, I do that too but I only read
stuff that’s in English. One of the big sources Livy used for a lot of his
history was in Greek and Mary Beard says Livy’s Greek wasn’t good enough for
him to read it and understand it properly. I’m not sure if the part of Titus
Andronicus we’re talking about would have been something Livy read about in
Greek but if it was, even one of the ‘true’ bits of Titus could have
been based on a dodgy translation of a myth.
So is Titus Andronicus a history play? Maybe.
A little bit. In places. It’s partly based on at least one true event but it’s
been fictionalised a lot to suit the story. You could say it’s a history play
because it was inspired by real historical and if Shakespeare used a bit of creative licence, it's
definitely not the only time he does this. He
really messed with Richard II quite a lot and Henry VIII too.
Richard and Cardinal Wolsley didn’t do everything Shakespeare said they did and
when he wrote the character Anne Bullen (Boleyn) he was definitely thinking
about not getting his head cut off by Anne’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth I. But
no-one seems to argue that they are history plays.
Or you could say Titus Andronicus isn’t
history because it’s gone too far away from the original events to be proper
history. That has happened with Macbeth. Macbeth was a real King of
Scotland and he really did kill Duncan but Macbeth isn’t thought of as a
history play. There are loads of differences
like he killed Duncan in battle, not in his bed (and I doubt he took his wife
into battle with him), he reigned for 17 years (and he was a good king) and
Macbeth’s stepson became king after him. But he was a real historical person.
I suppose it’s up to the individual to decide where
the line is and where a play that was inspired by historical events stops being
historical. I’d maybe call Titus and Macbeth historically
inspired or historically influenced or something like that.
Anyway Titus Andronicus is not typical
Shakespeare and it’s a bit weird and creepy but a lot of people like weird and
creepy and this has some really great characters. You don’t always like them
but they are people you want to watch because you don’t know what they’ll do
next and even when you know the story, these characters can shock you.
This is a Zoom production but Shake-Scene, directed by Lizzie Conrad-Hughes, don’t hold back on anything. The horror is here. The
violence is here. It’s believable and it’s hard to watch at times but it’s
really good and the characterisations are really strong. There’s lots of
dropping dead and waving swords about but all the deaths are different. They’re
very clever and some of them are very sad.
Jill Greenacre plays Titus and her interpretation was
so different from what I expected. I thought I would really dislike Titus but
there is something quite innocent and excitable and vulnerable about him. She
made me care about him and worry about him which wasn’t something I expected.
Linda Mathis is magnificent as Aaron. He is another
character I didn’t expect to like but first I liked watching him because he is
so compelling to watch and then later there is a really major change to his
life (not giving spoilers!) and that shows you a really different side to him
which is lovely. I really liked the confusion I felt. I think it is good to
feel conflicted about characters but you need a good actor to make it happen.
Ashleigh Harvey is brilliant as Tamora. She’s very
cold but she’s passionate at the same time. She’s another character who is
really exciting to watch even though she’s not very nice (Tamora I mean.) Bridget
Randolph has got a strong presence as Lucius, Siegffried Loew-Walker is scary
as Saturninus (he’s usually quite laid back) and Dewi Hughes provides some
comedy which I was more than ready for but he does the serious stuff just as
well.
Simon Balcon characterises Demetrius really well and
he definitely deserves the Best Make-Up award. It's a really clever and subtle performance and everything-
the way he speaks and moves and definitely his make-up is all part of that We didn’t let Alba watch the whole thing because
she’s only 9 and we don’t want to upset her or give her ideas about how she can
murder all of us (she’s quite blood thirsty) but we had to show her a little
bit of Simon because she’s a BIG fan and now she’s nagging all her friends to
have a fancy dress party so she can dress up as Demetrius! (I’m sure she
wouldn’t want to if she knew what he’d done but we didn’t tell her that part.)
Lavinia is played by Tamara Ritthaler. There is a lot
of sadness in this play but Lavinia’s story is the most upsetting and it’s such
a sad, emotional performance. It’s a horrific storyline and it kind of hurts to
watch it but I couldn’t look away. It’s an amazing performance and just when I
thought she couldn’t get any more amazing I remembered she also played Richard
III! That is what I call versatile!
Titus Andronicus
is a good play and I think you should watch it if you can.
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