Does the thought of people getting eaten in pies interest you more than pumpkin pie this Halloween season? If so, go see the Shakespeare on the Lawn acting group perform Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare's first tragedy.
Described by Julian Bouchard, who portrays Titus himself, as a "glorious orgy of violence," Titus Andronicus does not fit neatly into most people's perceptions of a Shakespeare tragedy. According to director Vincent Barbatti, Titus is more reminiscent of a true tragedy than popular works by Shakespeare's contemporaries, such as Christopher Marlowe.
The plot centers around the vengeful, scheming dynamics between two families: Titus Andronicus' Roman family and Lady Tamara's Goth family. At the opening of the play, Titus has just returned from beating the Goths in a war where he lost 21 of his 25 sons. He has taken Lady Tamara and her family as prisoners of war; as a sacrifice to the spirits of one of his dead sons, Titus and his men brutally murder Lady Tamara's eldest son. Thus begins the cycle of revenge, betrayal and loss that Titus and Tamara inflict upon each other's families through acts of violence such as murder, rape and cannibalism.
Violence is one of the most prominent themes in the play and is portrayed so graphically at times that it cannot be ignored. That's why Shakespeare on the Lawn made it clear in their advertising that the show is not suitable for audiences of all ages.
The intensity of the violence is consistent with what the group wants. Barbatti said the main goal was actually to emphasize the elements of blood, gore, rape, fighting and cannibalism so that people would be shocked. Also, because it's difficult to portray cannibalism and other extreme forms of violence tragically, the director said, his goal was for the show to seem less like a traditional tragedy and more like a Quentin Tarantino-style movie.
Nathan Anderith, the producer and fight choreographer for the show, said that achieving such an extreme level of violence was very emotionally draining for the actors. In fact, to simulate how it feels to penetrate human flesh, he told the actors to practice stabbing pieces of meat. Anderith's main goal for staging the fight scenes was to convey the intimacy of violence.
"It's hard to do, emotionally, but I think it's coming across well and as very disturbing," Anderith said.
There are other messages that the group wants to convey through their interpretation of the dark play. One of these applies to every generation -- the idea that rules and order are masks that hide the desire for violence that exists in everyone and when civilization breaks down, everyone falls into barbarism. Another message, reflecting Shakespeare's tendency to be political in his plays, is that although only the powerful characters like Titus and Tamara fight, everyone -- including the children of the royals -- suffers equally.
Barbatti also commented on the group's unique portrayal of the characters in Titus. Whereas most plays pin a character down as mostly good, evil or dynamic, Barbatti's goal was to "make every character ambiguous, to show that they all have both sympathetic and cold moments." Thus, Titus is not only portrayed as a hero, nor are the Goths only portrayed as villains.
The set of Titus is largely a means of symbolically enhancing the physical decay and degradation of the fallen Roman empire. One of the three columns built for the play was hollowed out and obviously has pieces missing to symbolize the emptiness of the ruins of Rome. More specific to Titus, two caryatids, or female-shaped columns, were designed to represent the personalities of the two main female characters, Tamara and Lavinia.
The design of the costumes also boasts ancient Rome with a futuristic twist. According to costume manager Laurel Maughan, hubcaps, tin cans and other "found objects" were used to make traditional-looking Roman armor. Some cast members will also wear Mohawks as a throwback to Roman war helmets.
Beware! Titus is not a rosy romantic comedy or a typical Halloween story complete with ghosts and goblins. However, the intensity of the acting and the evidence of the hard work that has gone into memorizing lines and fight scenes in only 8 weeks' time make the show a worthy experience for this Halloween season.
'Titus Andronicus' will make its debut this Friday night, Oct. 20, at the Student Activities Building at 8 p.m. The show will run again Saturday, Oct. 21st at 2 and 8 p.m.
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