This revival of Titus Andronicus was an off-off Broadway production by New York Shakespeare Exchange; it ran from February- January in 2015. This production was directed and adapted by Ross Williams, who has directed many shows around the world. The show had a successful run, and all the reviews were positive. There was a fascinating twist, this productions setting of William Shakespeare’s most bloody play now takes place in a circus tent in the midst of a carnival. Titus Andronicus follows the story of retribution after a ten-year war between the Romans and Goths, and the queen of the Goths Tamora’s plan of bloody revenge on the Romans and Titus. There is political turmoil and bloodshed between both parties. This modern and circus take on Titus Andronicus made this particular production stand out, and many critics loved this contemporary and fun take on a classic like Titus Andronicus. Some of the cast that got recognition in articles included Brendan Averett as Titus, Kate Lydic as Lavinia, Gretchen Egolf as Tamora, Kerry Kastin as the Clown, Joseph Mitchell Parks as Lucius, Vince Gatton as Saturninus, Warran Jackson as Aaron, Nathaniel P. Claridad as Demetrius, Ethan Itzkow as Chiron, and Sean Hinkle as Young Luscious. The production included Assistant Director: Cristina Lundy, Dramaturge: Shane Breaux, Costume Designer: Elivia Bovenzi, Scenic Designer: Jason Lajka, Lighting Designer: Drew Florida, Fight Choreography: Alicia Rodis, and Props/Violence Designer: Cassie Dorland. This production had a cast and crew that worked together seamlessly to uphold to create new and exciting art. The New York Shakespeare Exchange’s mission is to “innovative theatrical programming that explores what happens when contemporary culture is infused with Shakespearean poetry and themes in unexpected ways”. This team came together to create a unique production to attract a modern audience. Researching the show through interviews, articles, and pictures I will get a sense of whether or not this particular production did achieve the theater’s mission statement. The set design by Lajka got many mentions in reviews, in Leah Richards article she states that “A further contextualization for contemporary audiences occurs in setting the play in a circus tent whose rear wall is dominated by what resembles a target made of concentric circles of light”(Richards). In an interview the director Ross Williams said, “ how do you make a pay like Titus Andronicus fun? Well one way is to put it in a circus setting and put a bull’s-eye right in the middle”(Ross). The light up bull’s-eye was a beautiful centerpiece and was also symbolic of who is going to be targeted next. It mixes the clown and the typical carnival bull’s-eye with the concept of who is going to die next. Pictures of this production show how important the set was to this concept of setting being inside a circus tent, the entire back and side walls are covered in a canvas, exhibiting the makeshift walls of
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Lavinia played by Kate Lydic was praised, “Kate Lydic imparts memorable dimensionality to Lavina despite not having the ability to speak for much of the play”(Richards). Though Lavinia didn’t have many lines, she still did a memorable job and had a good use of body to convey emotion. The New York Times says that Brandan Averett was “excellent”, and Gretchen Egolf was “fabulous” (Gates), Tamora and Titus are the leads in the play, and both got short praises. The use of language by the cast was praised ,“These actors demonstrate their craft so well there is nothing intimidating about the language. With double entendre galore and raw emotion already present in the language, this team brings the incredible words to life”(Roberts). This was the most telling review, iambic pentameter is hard to understand sometimes, and Titus Andronicus is filled with double entendres and rich wordy language that we are not used to hearing. This proves the actors have done a lot of text work and understood their objectives, the language was clear and the audience could understand what was being said. Which is important especially with today’s modern audience. Understanding every word and making it clear to an audience can be tricky, but these actors confidently used the words to make the story clear and easy to
Lavinia played by Kate Lydic was praised, “Kate Lydic imparts memorable dimensionality to Lavina despite not having the ability to speak for much of the play”(Richards). Though Lavinia didn’t have many lines, she still did a memorable job and had a good use of body to convey emotion. The New York Times says that Brandan Averett was “excellent”, and Gretchen Egolf was “fabulous” (Gates), Tamora and Titus are the leads in the play, and both got short praises. The use of language by the cast was praised ,“These actors demonstrate their craft so well there is nothing intimidating about the language. With double entendre galore and raw emotion already present in the language, this team brings the incredible words to life”(Roberts). This was the most telling review, iambic pentameter is hard to understand sometimes, and Titus Andronicus is filled with double entendres and rich wordy language that we are not used to hearing. This proves the actors have done a lot of text work and understood their objectives, the language was clear and the audience could understand what was being said. Which is important especially with today’s modern audience. Understanding every word and making it clear to an audience can be tricky, but these actors confidently used the words to make the story clear and easy to