Wil't please you eat? Wil't please your highness feed?

[thehefner]

TITUS: After a night with the hacksaw, I was all ready to put on my feast, so that I could tell you personally about your dear sons' demise! And of course, feed you your pie. Do you like it? Do you like it, Tamora? I call it, "Chiron and Demetrius pie."


Y'know, it's the mark of a great production of TITUS ANDRONICUS that you can see it... you can see it, having known and loved the Hopkins movie and having seen it about twenty times by now, until you can scarcely think of it ever being done another way... and *still* say to yourself, several times over: "Dude. That is FUCKED UP."


TAMORA: Oh my God! OH MY GOD!
TITUS: Nah nah nah nah NAH nah! I made you eat your children! Nah nah nah nah NAH nah!


The Globe's production of TITUS was absolutely astounding. It definitely focused on the comedy aspect, and was well off for it. And the gore... well, while there wasn't enough to mop off the stage as I'd hoped, it was there, oh yes. Lavinia especially. When he was revealed, oh god... gasps went through the audience. I actually was so shocked, I instantly teared up at the sight. I have never been so outright horrified in a show as I was here. She played it as though in shock, shivering, looking almost blank at first. Then when Marcus asked her why she can't speak, and she *showed* him... more gasps. It was utterly harrowing. Then a woman in the audience passed out. And so it became awesome. Of course, she might have been a plant, for all I know. Still, it reminds me of how Olivier was said to keep a running tally of all the audience members who passed out when he played Titus.

Other brilliant gags: Titus trying to work the bow and arrow with one hand, and failing repeatedly. Titus frantically digging out slices of pie with his hand, viciously shoveling it onto Tamora's plate, licking the fingers on his hand and trying to lick the fingers on his missing hand afterwards. Actually hanging Chiron and Demetrius upside down and shoving an apple into Chiron's mouth after slashing his throat.


LUCIUS: Jesus Christ, dude!
TAMORA: My sons are dead! No! Nooooo!
AARON: Um, excuse me?
TAMORA: Jesus! My beloved Saturnine! My, uh... good friend, Aaron, please help me! For God's sake!
SATURNINUS: Jeez, what a li'l crybaby!
AARON: Are you gonna cry all day, crybaby??
SATURNINUS: You know, everyone has problems; it doesn't mean you have to be a little crybaby about it.
AARON: Come on, guys, let's go. This Queen of the Goths is totally not cool.
SATURNINUS: Yeah, that's the most uncool Queen of the Goths I've ever met.
RANDOM ROMAN TRIBUNE: Little crybaby!


There were some very interesting differences here than in the film. Like, while Lavina was more distinctly "broken" here, her death seemed less quick and "voluntary" on her part, making it even more shocking. Oh, and speaking of shocking, that scene where Titus bids her to pick up his hand? In the movie, it was a quick WTF moment. Here... it's a command, and she gets down *on her knees* to get it from the floor. FUCKED. UP.

The scene after Titus cuts off his hand, when he delivers the big Lear-like speech, in the movie there was a powerful swell of the music. Here, when he did that speech? The only soundtrack... was Lavinia. Moaning. A low, continuous, growing sob, as long strings of blood hung and dripped from her mouth. *shudder*

God, the audience reactions here were golden, golden I say! And they loved Aaron, because hell, everyone loves Aaron. The most likable (well, charismatic) guy in the whole play is the most viciously sadistic, unrepentantly evil one of all. And he's hardcore too. I need to make an icon of Aaron that says "BADAZZMOFO" or something. He killed this nurse here by stabbing her. Rectally. A few minutes later, she moaned, rolled over, and coughed up blood. Aaron pointed and laughed.

God, I would love to see someone with real vision produce TITUS with the Rudes. Someone who, unlike me (until I saw this performance), so closely tied the play with the movie. Because now I know for certain that Julie Tamor's is not the only vision for this awesome, fucked-UP play, and now I both anticipate and dread the Shakespeare Theatre's upcoming production. Because to do this show right, you need to seriously be ready to totally indulge in some twisted-ass stuff here, no reservations.

Also, we should serve meat pie. I had a meat pasty before the show and another afterwards. Because I'm like that. And because, as you know, there's no "I" in team. But there is an "I" in "pie." Meat pie... "meat" is an anagram of "team"... I don't know what I was talking about.


TITUS: Yes! Yesss!! Oh, let me taste your tears, Tamora! Mm, your tears are so yummy and sweet.
LUCIUS: (To Marcus) Dude, I think it might be best for us to never piss Titus off again.
MARCUS: (To Lucius) Good call.
TITUS: Oh, the tears of unfathomable sadness! Mm-yummy! Mm-yummy, you guys!

Comments

[charisma18.livejournal.com]

I remember when I did this show with Washington Shakespeare, I was very pleasantly surprised at how entirely possible it was to do it straight. Never in a million years did I think you could do Titus without eliciting laughs from todays audience.

But we only got one even partial laugh reaction throughout the entire show, and that was more of a "let-off-the-tension" laugh. It was after Chiron had watched Titus kill Demetrius, and turned and saw Lucius approaching with the buzz-saw...

I think one thing that helped, actually, was that we used *very* little blood. The only blood moment we had was when Lavinia opened her mouth after "Why won't you speak?" Because, god, when an innocent, naked 20-year old girl illuminated only by the beam of a flashlight opens her mouth and the blood spills out... it's like opening the gates of Hell.

My mantra for when I was doing fights for that show: "Show them pain, not blood. Blood is funny. Pain is real."

I was glad I didn't see Julie Taymor's version until after the run of the show was complete, brilliant as it was, because that let me discover it on its own. And to realize that there's a ton of ways to do this show "right," seriously and comedically, with gore or without.

And at the end of the day, would you believe the show has an actual @*#$(% MORAL? You look back at the whole play, and you realize, "If just one person had said 'I forgive you' during this entire debacle, the entire chain of violence could have ended."

Glad to hear the London production was so wonderful. Everyone deserves to see a brilliant Titus at least once.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I believe it. I do. I'd just absolutely love to see it with my own eyes. I know if I were to do it, I'd be too drawn to the fucked-up humor.

And yeah! Yeah, it is a moral play! See, at the end of the day, I think that's why I prefer Taymor's film. Because I think it actually effectively managed to balance *both* aspects, the comedy and the morality. At the end, young Lucius takes the child out of the theatre of violence.

Wow, the blood from her mouth being used by all three productions. In yours, a little bit. In the movie, carried by the wind. In the Globe's, glob comes out! Man. Now, see, THAT, I can't see being done any other way. How else to effectively show why she can't speak?

[mirthical.livejournal.com]

...and this is why I adore you, Fuzzy.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

For saying that and so many more reasons, right back atcha, babe.