Shakespeare!

[Speed Tracer]

I think that Titus Andronicus, while not in my top five - probably not even my top ten or fifteen - is a terribly underrated play, with some truly wonderful characters. Saturninus is definitely one of them.

We've got a few plays we're planning at the moment. After Macbeth, which we'll rehearse in September and perform in October, we're going to start rehearsals for Measure for Measure (I play the Duke), All's Well That Ends Well (Parolles), and The Comedy of Errors (Adriana).

We're also working on maybe doing the complete War of the Roses, which would be difficult since we only have fifteen actors. If this does happen, the one role I know I want is Pistol in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V.

 

[Winslow Leach]

I think that Titus Andronicus, while not in my top five - probably not even my top ten or fifteen - is a terribly underrated play, with some truly wonderful characters. Saturninus is definitely one of them.

It's very underrated. In fact (I'm sure you've heard this) some scholars claim that the play wasn't even written by Shakespeare. Or at the very least he collaborated with someone. I personally believe the play IS Shakespeare's.

But it is kind of a weird play with so much violence, bloodshed, cruelty and mutilation. It's almost as if Shakespeare was giving the public exactly what they craved, and purposely went over the top.

I liked Julie Taymor's Titus with Anthony Hopkins.

 

[Beakerfan]

Yesterday I was cleaning out my grandmother's garage & I found a "Studie on Shakespeare's Plays & Dramas" which was published in 1877. It's in pretty good condition, too. Weird.

 

[Speed Tracer]

Our production of Titus Andronicus was really pretty extreme. It really is one of his funniest plays... to me, anyway. We decided to play that up as much as possible, and I was asked afterward if it was supposed to be funny. My parents told me that they started questioning their sanity during the big pie-eating scene, which gathered the biggest laughs.

Also, because Aaron is a Moor, and thus has dark skin, we decided that, rather than putting me in blackface, I would have war tattoos covering practically my entire body. It was really effective.

"Aaron will have his soul black like his face."

 

[Speed Tracer]

Yesterday I was cleaning out my grandmother's garage & I found a "Studie on Shakespeare's Plays & Dramas" which was published in 1877. It's in pretty good condition, too. Weird.

That's so cool! That reminds me of my favorite copy of the complete works. I own about twelve, and this one is a really dusty - and I mean REALLY dusty - copy from 1899 that belonged to my great-grandfather. One day I tried to dog-ear a page in Timon of Athens and that corner of the page completely broke off. Not tore off - broke off.

The reason it's my favorite copy is because it includes the first quarto of Hamlet, rather than the one most commonly used today. There are 2800 lines in the first quarto instead of 4200, and it's also a much funnier play. Not to mention that many character names are different and some speeches are notably changed from the norm. Example:

"To be or not to be? Ay, there's the point."

 

[peyjenk]

It's very underrated. In fact (I'm sure you've heard this) some scholars claim that the play wasn't even written by Shakespeare. Or at the very least he collaborated with someone. I personally believe the play IS Shakespeare's.

But it is kind of a weird play with so much violence, bloodshed, cruelty and mutilation. It's almost as if Shakespeare was giving the public exactly what they craved, and purposely went over the top.

I liked Julie Taymor's Titus with Anthony Hopkins.

I love Titus Andronicus. It has no subtlety whatsoever, and yet is still so rich. I find Lavinia to be one of the most tragic figures in all of literature, and think Tamora is a nice precursor to Lady Macbeth.

I agree that it is underrated and underperformed. A lot of people really hate it... I had one teacher who said a colleague of his used to cite it as "proof that even Shakespeare could write a bad play." I personally think that a lot of TA's appeal is its gritty, unpolished feel.

 

[Winslow Leach]

I love Titus Andronicus. It has no subtlety whatsoever, and yet is still so rich. I find Lavinia to be one of the most tragic figures in all of literature, and think Tamora is a nice precursor to Lady Macbeth.

I agree that it is underrated and underperformed. A lot of people really hate it... I had one teacher who said a colleague of his used to cite it as "proof that even Shakespeare could write a bad play." I personally think that a lot of TA's appeal is its gritty, unpolished feel.

Oh, it's a great play! I mean, the title character has this moving farewell speech to his hand before he chops it off! And the whole dinner sequence? Great macabre (but humorous) stuff!

 

[Speed Tracer]

Here's some proof that Shakespeare could write a bad play:

Timon of Athens
Henry VIII
The Two Noble Kinsmen

And yet I've seen fantastic productions of all three. Go fig.

 

[Speed Tracer]

Ooh, and Winslow, you mentioned Julie Taymor's film Titus. God, what a divine movie. The Rhys boys are so danged frightening... and Jessica Lange as Tamora? Who'da'thunk it?

The real star of the movie, though, is Osheen Jones, who plays Young Lucius.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Well, I loved the TV show Titus. Good show! Carry on.