Review: Titus Andronicus (Right Brain Project)

Epic bloodbath encompasses the audience

The most graphically disturbing of all Shakespeare’s plays, Titus Andronicus is a tale of escalating vengeance that is well-suited for production during the Halloween season.The Right Brain Project’s simple staging of the play at their claustrophobic Rorschachspace enhances its macabre nature.

The script is often the subject of much criticism. Anyone with easily offended sensibilities can dismiss it as a bloodbath and little else. The language, while certainly not Shakespeare’s poetic best, shoulders too much blame when the real issue lies with the plot and characters. Titus (Dennis Newport) ostensibly serves as the protagonist, but his initial callous and short-sighted actions are what set the snowball of vengeance down the hill. As a result, hardly any of the characters come off as likeable. Aaron’s malevolence isn’t even motivated by revenge, merely the desire to create discord.

The Right Brain Project overcomes many of the play’s shortcomings, most notably by mastering the language under the tutelage of text coach Christopher Marino. The cast as a whole excels with the verse, making Shakespeare’s words sound natural. Simina Contras stands out as Tamora, maintaining her skilled grasp of the language even as she acrobatically contorts her body in her seductive scene with Aaron (Dominique Worsley). Her phenomenal stage presence dominates every scene she’s involved with.

The truly distinctive feature of this production is in its willingness to push the envelope in close quarters. Seventeen actors fill the tiny space, and audience members are provided ponchos for splattering blood effects. Alex Potanos (Demetrius) and Stephen Gawrit (Chiron) make their characters suitably detestable, and their rape of Lavinia (Susan Myburgh) is so graphic that it is truly hard to watch. Even knowing what would take place in the climactic dinner scene, I got chills as it unfolded.

The production’s greatest flaw lies in the pacing. As characters die, director Emma Peterson has a black veil meticulously placed over their heads, transforming them into some kind of ethereal stagehands and eventually comprising the Goth army. A portion of blood also gets added to the two bowls hanging ominously overhead. I get the notions of making sure that no death is overlooked and the cumulative consequences of the murders, but this effect is not worth slowing down a script that could already have used a trim. Moreover, the dead characters remaining onstage in this tiny space means that sightlines are sometimes compromised.

Clearly, young or sensitive patrons should not attend this production of Titus Andronicus. The Right Brain Project uses the right mix of substance, style, shock, and splatter to rattle even the most stoic theater-goer. This is a great example of how well-devised theater does not need elaborate costumes, set, or props in order to succeed.

Rating: ★★★

Titus Andronicus continues through November 10th at RBP Rorschach, 4001 N. Ravenswood, 4th floor (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm.  Tickets are $15-$20 suggested donation, and can be reserved by phone (773.750.2033) or via e-mail at tickets@therbp.org.  More information at TheRBP.org.  (Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes, includes an intermission)

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artists

cast

Adam Betz (Publius, Alarbus); Simina Contras (Tamora); Brittany Ellis (Mutius, Clown); Nick Freed (Lucius); Stephen Gawrit (Chiron); Dylan Marks (Marcus Andronicus); Zack Meyer (Saturninus); Danny Mulae (Young Lucius); Susan Myburgh (Lavinia); Dennis Newport (Titus Andronicus); Danny Pancratz (Quintus); Alex Potanos (Demetrius); Joseph Ramski (Bassianus); Nathan Robbel (Aemilius); Sarah Thompson (Nurse); Richard Traub (Martius); Dominique Worsley (Aaron)

behind the scenes

Emma Peterson (director); Christopher Marino (text coach); Trevor Watkin (music director); David Wesley Mitchell (asst. director, costumes); Orion Couling (violence director); Michael C. Smith (tech director); Shauna Warren (stage manager); Michael C. Smith (lighting); Jessica Heffernen (props); Tom McGrath (set); Alex Potanos (blood captain)