Brothers Bassianus and Saturninus are rivals for the Russian throne. Rome’s greatest general, Titus Andronicus favous Saturninus and the issue is thus divided in his favour.
The appointment is a tragic mistake. Saturninus is a murderous tyrant and plots with his concubine Tamora, Queen of the Goths, even against Titus. With the new Emperor’s complicity, Bassianus is murdered Tutus’ daughter Lavinia is raped and has her tongue cut out by Tamora’s sons while her brothers are falsely denounced and executed and Titus himself is tricked into sacrificing his sword hand,.
When Titus’ only remaining son Lucius, rides north to raise an enemy of Goths to overthrow Saturninus, Titus unleashes his private revenge. He kills one of Tamora’s sons as a sacrifice at the tomb of his own son , Mutius, whom he himself has been tricked into murdering and cooks her remaining sons in a pie which he serves to Tamora and Saturninus.
There is no end to the violence in this bloodiest of Shakespeare plays as two families are locked into a vicious cycle of chaos and bloody vengeance.
Adena Jacobs’ production is a powerful one. Quoting directly from Adena, “the play is about parents and children and how the violence transfers from parent to child.”
Jacobs’ creative team effectively create the world for the actors to play in. The set design is fluid, changing between scenes and we are caught up in it as a stage wide screen is pushed down, blocking our view till the action begins again. Images are, at times, flashed onto the screen as are captions encapsulating what is taking place. The actual black stage ‘curtain’ comes down, at times. with an actor appearing in front of the curtain, to add further intimacy to the evening.
There is a major thread of multi-media used through the production, projected starkly onto the front screen and, as well, onto the panels at the back and sides of the stage. The images are often stark, bloody and confronting. Verity Hampson was in charge of lighting and projection design.
Eugyeene Teh’s costume design was intriguing, (not strictly being period costumes) not the least being the body suit which Titus wears. Max Lyandvert’s stark, edgy soundscape complemented the action well. As the piece became darker and darker so did the music.
The performances were uniformly good. Jane Montgomery Griffiths was excellent as Titus Andronicus, a man with power who knows how to use it. Interesting choice to have the lead male role be played by a female. It worked because of the quality of the performance.
Melita Jurisic played her part, Tamora, with a lot of conviction and earnestness. Tariro Mavondo was excellent as Tamora’s lover, Aaron. Jayna Patel played the role of Titus’ troubles daughter, Lavinia as well as being part of the ensemble,
Josh Price played the roles of Marcus, Bassianus, and was part of the ensemble. Tony Ray Ray played the parts of Mutius, Demetrius and the ensemble. Daniel Schlusser was Saturninus and the ensemble. Grace Truman played the role of Lucius, Chiron and the ensemble. Catherine Van-Davies played the role of the clown.
Definitely not a show for the faint hearted. A tough, uncompromising and confronting production, TITUS ANDRONICUS is playing the Playhouse at the Sydney Opera House until the 27th September, 2019.