There are so many possibilities with a Shakespearian text; Does one choose traditional costume or contemporary, to speak the words penned by that famous man or to tell the story in your own words?
Those are some of the questions surely considered by a director when choosing to take on one of Shakespeare’s famous tales. This tale is so often told (there are 4 in the Fringe guide this year alone) and there is an anticipation and excitement amongst the audience as to how the director and company will choose to tell it.
The stage is stark and what grabs the attention of the audience is an image of the poster projected on the back wall. A film noir inspired opening is what might come to mind: this hope, however, is not realised.
The show opens confidently; the energy is high which is necessary to keep this audience engaged for the next 100 minutes. Titus Andronicus (Ben Blackburn) shows the leadership, passion and clarity needed to play the role throughout the show.
Titus Andronicus, supposedly one of Shakespeare’s first tragedies, is a story of revenge, betrayal and villainy and one that you will need a strong stomach for. This company does not brush over the torture scenes in any which way and it is at times excruciating to hear the visceral screams from Lavinia and the morbid warbles from Titus.
It is a clear and confident directorial choice to show scenes of torture and rape with no dilution. However the need for proper choreography is clear after a violent scene between Lavinia, Demetrius and Chiron had me genuinely worried for the safety of the actors.
I have no doubt that the cast at moments were really invested in their characters. Aron’s physicality was clear, well-defined and consistent. Performing a classical script is not easy but this cast possessed such a firm grip on the text that made it easy to follow and for that they deserve credit.
The staging for this show was at times too simplistic and unimaginative, especially as the visual possibilities for this show are vast. It would have been nice if they had used the animated projection more than once as aesthetically and visually it was engaging.
Deadly Theatre Productions took on this Shakespearean text with confidence and spark; the play had real pace and to tell the entire story of Titus in 100 minutes shows aptitude and ability, however it is clear that the staging needed more thought to invest its audience in this famous tragedy.
