MM+Titus+Andronicus+Critique

Mackenzie Marr Professor Richmond THEA 2000 17 April 2017 Titus Andronicus Critique I saw Titus Andronicus on Friday night, April 7. Overall, the production was very interesting, albeit gory. I was very impressed by both the technical aspects and the acting in this show. While the show was enjoyable, it was very long, but that was not extremely surprising for Shakespeare. The environment set before the show prepared the audience for the tense nature of the show, and the large scale of the set was immediately eye-catching.

The set was used in a creative way for the show, and the use of the unit set was appropriate for a production of Shakespeare. The height of the tower provided grandeur to the stage, but I felt that the lack of platforms on it limited the use, and it was underused. The rounded elements of the center of the stage, both the round platform that tilted toward the audience and the platforms surrounding it that rose toward the tower, contributed a dynamic look to the scene. I also thought that the descent of these platforms that served as giant stairs served to symbolize the decline that occurs throughout the play. The grates on the built-out parts of the stage added to the cold, caustic nature of the show and I liked the way they were used for some lighting effects. Using the trap doors as a place to “bury” people throughout the play was creative, and more interesting than it would have been to simply watch people be carried offstage.

The lighting and sound in this show really came together to emphasize the action. Even before the show started, the room was full of smoke that gave an impression of nearby chaos. The smoke also refracted the light throughout much of the first act which made the steep angle they were aimed from even more dramatic. The show started with the sound of distant drumming, which came from actual drummers entering from the back of the house. The audience was very entertained by this, and it worked really well to draw people into the action. It also made it clear a battle had just occurred, and got everyone into the mindset of the show. There were other sound effects that were very effective, as well. I liked the ethereal nature of the sound change when the oracles spoke. Combined with the light on their collars they truly had an otherworldly quality, and I could tell immediately that they were a different type of character. The light was teal and white for much of the performance, but during Aaron’s soliloquy at the beginning and the scene with Tamora’s sons it was a deep amber color, which signaled a definitive shift in tone from the Romans to the Goths. Throughout the show, a clear line was made between the Romans and the Goths through a number of design elements, and I think this enhanced understanding of the show. The most striking use of lighting was the red lighting and sound was when the most violent sword scenes, with the red lighting and sound effects that mimicked swords swinging through the air. This was done for the scene where Titus’ hand was cut off and for the string of murders at the end. I thought this staging was sufficiently violent, and provided a dramatic interpretation of the slaughter rather than the gore itself, which I liked. I felt that the stylized view of the violence was ultimately more enjoyable to watch than a more realistic interpretation would have been. After Titus’s behanding, the light changed quickly to blue and white, and this dramatic change was eerie and added to the shock of the previous events, while still allowing focus on the aftermath. The lighting transitions were often noticeable and clued the viewer into what was happening in the scene, but there was also much more subtle lighting occurring throughout the show through the use of the cyclorama. I myself only noticed its color changing in the last few scenes, but its use always complemented the action well, since it was never to glaring.

One of my favorite uses of lighting in this show was right after intermission when light shone up through the grates on the stage to imitate a campfire. Fire sound effects accompanied this, and yellow, orange, and red light shifted and was visible on the stage and on the ceiling of the theater. In addition to providing context about location and making the scene clearer, I found this effect to be aesthetically pleasing, and those to attributes were exhibited in the lighting throughout the show.

 The costumes for this production enhanced the characterization and did an excellent job of making clear who was related to whom. The sheer skirts, lighted collars, and dramatic headpieces of the oracles combined with the pastel palate that differed from the rest of the characters made them distinct. They all had an ethereal quality that immediately set them apart from both the Goths and the Romans. The military-style clothes of the Romans were successful in grouping them together and representing them as traditional warriors, which contrasted with the Goths who had more wild and rakish quality to them, especially in the cases of Aaron and Tamora. The details in Tamora’s costume really enhanced the qualities of her that were simultaneously regal and barbarous, like her scarab beetle earrings. The combination of her high collar and the bump in front of her hair made her seem tall, elegant, and poised, while the braids on the sides made her look rougher. The cloaks she wore throughout the production were just stunning, both the one she wears as Empress and when she is pretending to be “revenge.” The way the “revenge” cloak caught the light and rippled with Tamora’s movements almost convinced // me // that she was the human incarnation of revenge. Aaron’s costume clearly grouped him with the Goths, and the many layers and small pieces, like the collar and vest rather than just a shirt, made all of his movements more dramatic and added to the interest of his character. Tamora’s sons were clearly linked to her by the style of their costumes, and combined with the actors’ movements, made them seem like perfectly archetypal henchmen. Saturnius’ costume also defines his character well. The red shirt established him as someone who would be key to the plot, and the gold and black cape he wears once he is named emperor radiates a regal quality. Overall, the costumes helped the audience to see the importance of each character and provided information about how the characters were related, while capturing the movement of each character in a way that emphasized the work being done by the actor.

This show had a number of effects that were called for by the action that were gory and unsettling, but in the end, were executed well. The blood that came out of Lavinia’s mouth was sufficiently convincing to alarm the audience, and the hand that is cut off of Titus was also sufficiently convincing, especially when Aaron squeezed the blood out of the hand and into his mouth. The simulated waterboarding of Aaron at the end seemed real, to the point that I was mildly concerned that the actor will require therapy following his performance. While the heads of the other sons were not extremely realistic, I was sufficiently invested and disgusted by that point in the show that I was relieved when they were not entirely believable. Overall, I felt that the production balanced the required amount of violence with the sensibilities of the audience.

The acting in this production is what really drove the performance home. The technical aspects of the production augmented the acting in such a way that anything the actors did well was heightened by their costume, the set, or the lighting. Tamora, played by Taylor Wood, was regal and commanding, and her ability to about face from her flirtatious advances on Aaron to her aside about how she wanted to end Titus was truly impressive. Every time she had one of these dark asides, Wood turned on a dime from Tamora’s façade to her inner thoughts. I enjoyed the creepy pompousness of Charlie Cromer’s portrayal of Saturnius. His quasi-maniacal representation of the emperor also served to further emphasize the guile of Tamora. Also a standout was Brittney Harris, who played Lavinia. For much of the play she did not speak, and yet her character was compelling through only facial expressions and body language. Her scene with her uncle, Marcus, played by Daniel Stock, immediately after her rape and mutilation was surprisingly touching and familiar despite the horrors that occur in the play. Overall I felt like the actors truly gave a humanity to their characters, even as many heinous acts occurred throughout the play.