Titus Andronicus
Produced by Richmond Shakespeare Festival in 2015, Earlham College
Richmond Shakespeare Festival 2015 Production of Titus Andronicus, by William Shakespeare
T. S. Eliot once wrote that Titus Andronicus was “one of the stupidest and most uninspired plays ever written, a play in which it is incredible that Shakespeare had any hand at all.” Harold Bloom has likewise called it “a howler” and “a poetic atrocity.”
We disagree, but we can sympathize. Titus Andronicus is violent. It is gruesome. It is probably inappropriate for children. But so are most newscasts. And at the heart of Titus Andronicus is a specific and all-too-familiar form of human tragedy, in which the failure of empathy and habit of violence propel well-meaning citizens into cycles of ever-escalating revenge, and give free rein to the worst of human inclinations.
It’s consequently easy enough to turn a production of Titus Andronicus into a session of grotesque and heavy-handed moralizing about the futility of violence and the evils of retribution. But our Titus takes a different approach. It’s a living play: energetic, moving, and (if we do say so ourselves) clever — even as it plumbs the depths of damaging (and sometimes ridiculous) human evil.
Additional Reading: PlayShakespeare.com
PRODUCTION TEAM
Director: Joshua Robinson
Assistant Director: Mallory Ward
Dramaturg/Production Manager: Nate Eastman
Scenic Design/Technical Director: Eric Barker
Costume Design: Mia Slayton
Lighting Design: Michael White
Lighting Assistants: Robb Black and Brennyn Bailey
Sound Design: Andrew Darr
Stage Manager: Kate Fuller
Assistant Stage Manager: Caitlin Cafiero
Principal Deviser: Jake Miligan
Assistant Production Managers: Catherine Blencowe and Michael Vinikoff
CAST LIST
Bassianius/Aemilius/Demon: Duane Coddington
Martius/Caius/Demon: Andy Collins
Lavinia: Meghan Cooper
Tamora: Beth Anne Darr
Quintus/Demon/Second Goth: Kath Glen
Aaron/Mephistopheles: Rae Hunter
Alarbus/Demon/Third Goth: Jake Milligan
Mutius/Clown/First Goth/Demon: Jared Millsaps
Chiron: Joe Petty
Marcus Andronicus: Patrick Reynolds
Titus Andronicus: TJ Rivard
Saturninus: Matthew Socey
Nurse/Demon: Mallory Ward
Demetrius: Brian Willis
Lucius: Kyle Zilic
2015 RSF BOARD
Ray Ontko, President
Nate Eastman, Vp nd Secretary
Steven Petersheim, Treasurer
Ruthanne Bolling
David Cobine
Beth Anne Darr
Diana Eheart
Kate Glen
Patty Glen
LoriJo Metz
Terrence Metz
Monica Rice
Lynne Perkins Socey
Michael White
Kyle Zilic