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Titus Andronicus

Written by William Shakespeare

20th October - 14th November 2015

New Wimbledon Studio

Adapted and Directed by: Ross McGregor

Movement Director: Will Pinchin
Fight Director: Alex Payne

Film Projection Design: Gareth Kearns

PR: Chris Hislop

Costume: Odin Corie

Producer: Simon James Collier

Weaponry: Nick Hall

Photography: Zoltan Almasi

Company Artist: Luke Ridge

Casting: Kayleigh Hawkins


CAST

Elizabeth Appleby as Tamora

Michael Bagwell as Bassianus
Cornelia Baumann as Marcia Andronicus

Pippa Caddick as Young Lucius

Cliff Chapman as Quintus 

Gareth Kearns as Saturninus

David Lenik Martius Andronicus / Caius

Annie McKenzie as Clown / Nurse

Samuel Morgan-Grahame as Lucius Andronicus

Remy Moynes as Lavinia 

Will Mytum as Chiron

Spencer Lee Osborne as Aaron

Alex Stevens as Demetrius

Alice Trow as Mutius Andronicus / Sempronia / First Goth

Matthew Ward as Titus Andronicus

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Spencer Lee Osborne as Aaron
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reviews

british theatre - 4 stars

“Arrow and Traps’ production explores the play’s “notoriety for violence” as a mirror to our society’s lack of empathy. Not only are the characters largely dressed in modern clothing, but scenes regularly transition via moments of 21st Century indulgence. Saturninus celebrates his political triumph in a strip club with his wife and new step sons, whom we later see drinking shots and snorting cocaine in front of a blithely texting Aaron. Most memorably of all, Titus rallies his grandson, young Lucius (Pippa Caddick), to spread word of Saturninus’s incompetence as ruler via Twitter, and we see his conversations play out on a large screen in the corner of the stage. Soon he is joined by a dozen pig-masked men and women, lit solely by the glare of their mobile phones, along with Saturninus, who is visibly pained by the cacophonous rattle of their typing. It is a gleefully knowing scene, with more than a touch of Black Mirror about it.


"The excellence of this production is not, however, defined by its modern inflections; rather it is the well observed, often very physical performances, coupled with the superb choreography, which elevates Shakespeare’s patchy script. The minimalist set – consisting of a beamed platform and the aforementioned screen – is used to terrific effect, with the former intriguingly informing the narrative’s fluctuating power dynamics. Amongst others, it serves as the Roman court where Tamora convinces Saturninus to spare the lives of the Andronicus clan – so she may exact her own revenge – the pit where Quintus (Cliff Chapman) and Martius (David Lenik) Andronicus stumble across Bassanius’s corpse, sealing their fate, and the arena where Lucius Andronicus (Samuel Morgan-Grahame) rallies his army of Goths. The final scenes, where the Andronicus clan prepare for Tamora and Saturninus’s grisly feast, are the only ones to rely on additional furniture, and they are beautifully realised – with tables and corpses manoeuvred around the stage with an almost balletic quality.


"The employment of empty spaces also impresses. In this regard, the standout performers are Mytum and Stevens as the psychopathic brothers Chiron and Demetrius, and Osborn as their tutor in evil, Aaron. Possessing the twitchy energy of Mad Max’s War Boys, but with bubbling wells of blackness at their core, the brothers pollute every second they inhabit the stage, harbingers of aimless brutality. Their family unit is compellingly animalistic. Permission to attack is invariably given by the more physically imposing Tamora or Aaron, and they circle their prey – Bassanius, Lavinia and later Annie McKenzie’s simple Clown – with terrifying precision. They are by no means subtle constructions – every sword movement is pointedly phallic – but they neatly exemplify the pointless chaos that underpins the narrative.


"Osborn’s Aaron, by contrast, is a charming and calculating politician, somehow smiling and smiling and being a compelling villain in spite of his occasionally ludicrous dialogue (“Let fools do good, and fair men call for grace. Aaron will have his soul black like his face” (Act 3, Scene 1), for instance). He is given far more opportunities to command the stage than Kearns’ Saturninus – who, devoid of character development, nevertheless delivers an entertaining performance as the archetypal self indulgent emperor – or Bagwell’s likeable Bassanius, a part which becomes more interesting in death. Indeed, Osborn is brilliantly frantic during one of the play’s few emotionally complex scenes, charging round the stage with his bastard son in one hand and a sword in the other, fending off his lover’s children.


It is often difficult to feel much sympathy for Titus, who kills two young men (including his son Mutius, for saying, “My lord, you pass not here”) in the first scene alone, but Ward does a good job at illuminating his emotional battle scars. The cycle of revenge that he and Appleby’s delightfully heartless Tamora engage in is not only embellished by the actors’ strong chemistry, but by the believably tender relationship he has with his daughter Lavinia – a role that Moynes portrays with heartbreaking intensity. Though Titus’s descent into madness, and later re-emergence, was a little unfocused, Ward is otherwise steely, determined, and a thoroughly convincing ruler of men.


The strength of the Andronicus family unit after Lavinia’s ordeal is grounded by Baumann’s rational Marcia, a gender inverted Marcus Andronicus. Hampered by prosaic dialogue – not least when revealing Lavinia’s treatment to Titus (“Titus, prepare thy aged eyes to weep; Or, if not so, thy noble heart to break: I bring consuming sorrow to thine age.” (Act 3, Scene 1)), Baumann compensates tremendously, carrying the weight of inner turmoil with utter conviction. In turn, Morgan-Grahame’s Lucius and Pippa Caddick’s young Lucius do well to hint at the happy life Titus once enjoyed, making the vengeance that the two wreak in Act 5 even more disturbing.


Titus Andronicus is not one of Shakespeare’s finest plays, but Arrow and Traps’ Theatre Company do a splendid job with their adrenaline fuelled, and often nightmarish interpretation. The excellent choreography, universally strong performances and nicely observed modern touches means that if you can stomach the premise, the production’s not to be missed."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Matthew Lunn - BRITISH THEATRE

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