Theatre Review: Titus Andronicus

Culture Editor Joel Bishton reviews the RSC’s production of Titus Andronicus: a blood-soaked spectacle filled with strong performances and striking visuals

Written by Joel Bishton
3rd Year History student. Interested in nerdy film, tv and musicals
Published
Last updated
Images by Marc Brenner
Titus Andronicus is considered Shakespeare’s bloodiest production, and on the basis of the latest production at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), it has earned that reputation. The production, directed by Max Webster and starring Simon Russell Beale in the title role, does not stint on the fake blood. I found myself wondering what how much of the budget went on dry cleaning. The death of Titus brings new meanings to Shakespeare’s line ‘who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him’.
Titus is a revenge play. It starts with an act of violence (Titus executing the son of an enemy) which leads to another act of violence, which leads to another act of violence, culminating in a stage littered with corpses. To be clear, if you want a fun night out at the theatre, go and see Much Ado About Nothing (also at the RSC). This is not necessarily a negative – not all theatre has to be enjoyable – but then relies on the production being good enough to entice those punters to it, rather than to is neighbour. Sadly the production never achieves more than the sum of its parts.
“

The production is a mixture of good and bad.

In terms of simple clarity, you are able to follow the twists and turns of the plot, not easy when dealing with verse and a play about which the most people know is that there’s a pie (a hint for those who don’t know it, it all goes a bit Sweeney Todd). Some of that can be put down to the performances. Overall, it is a  strong ensemble, with particular plaudits going to Emma Fielding’s Marcia and Natey Jones’ Aaron (a controversial part well-handled).
However, the main draw for this production is Beale, who gives a strong performance. Though he never quite convinces as a retired general, mooching about in a dressing gown in a key scene, he successfully finds comedy in certain lines which helps to alleviate the unrelenting darkness without trivialising it. It reminded me of his performance of Beria in The Death of Stalin though he never utilised the quiet menace of that part in this production.
“

Overall, the set design is another positive.

There will be a slight hiccup when you realise that they seemed to have used the doors from The Apprentice (the tv show), but overall the minimalism of the set, with most scene changes illustrated by lighting and with most of the action taking place on a giant tombstone which makes up the floor, is effective.
However, the play has its drawbacks, one of which is the aforementioned fake blood. Webster has spoken in interviews about not wishing to reduce the impact of the violence and to take it seriously. However, the copious amounts of blood seems increasingly unserious as the show carries on and builds to its climax. Ultraviolence is difficult to do well without tipping into Tarantino-esque enjoyment of it, and the play fails to avoid this trap.
It also leans on a lack of specificity to suggest a relevance to the wider world. It is clear that violence causing more violence is a situation that different parts of the world find themselves in, and some of the violence of the play resonates. However, the show falls into cliched ideas (dressing in power grey, military uniforms) that dulls the impact of some of Webster’s more interesting decisions. It is this that means that, while this is intellectually a play for our times, the emotion of it never feeds through.
Verdict: A collection of good and bad ideas that eventually don’t coalesce into a strong whole, Titus Andronicus is an interesting misfire.

Rating: 3/5

Enjoyed this? Read more from Redbrick Culture here!

Comments