Greetings, boils and ghouls! This is your old fiend, The Crypt Keeper, and I’ll be your waiter for this evening. Today’s special is a repulsive recipe concocted by our chef, William Shakespeare! It’s a mixture of rape, revenge and cannibalism, sprinkled with severed heads and limbs, and covered with fresh blood. I call this tasteless tidbit “Titus Andronicus.” Heh-heh-heh.
The above intro is just about the only thing missing from director Gale Edwards’ everything-but-the-kitchen-sink take on the Bard’s bloodiest play, which is currently playing at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. There have been better entries in the Shakespeare in Washington festival, but it’s safe to say that this is, by far, the screwiest of the bunch.
The plot revolves around the Hatfield-McCoy-type feud between Roman general Titus Andronicus (Sam Tsoutsouvas) and Goth Queen Tamora (Valerie Leonard) that begins when he has her oldest son publicly executed after vanquishing her army. When Tamora is unexpectedly chosen by the new Emperor of Rome, Saturninus (Alex Podulke), to be his bride, a cycle of revenge is set into motion.
In the play’s most notorious scene, Tamora’s sons, Demetrius (Ryan Farley) and Chiron (David L. Townsend) rape Titus’ daughter, Lavinia (Colleen Delany), and lop off her tongue and hands to prevent her from identifying them. Then things really get gruesome.
Admittedly, the script is so looney-tunes that it’s virtually impossible to play this material straight. In any case, once the Grand Guignol-style violence rears its bloody head, the production becomes campier and campier, until it reaches the point that, if Adam West ran across the stage in his old Batman outfit, it wouldn’t seem the least bit out of place. (The scene where Tamora and her sons impersonate wraiths looks just like a Halloween party at Studio 54, complete with mirrored disco ball.)
Among the actors, Leonard, Delany and Peter Macon (as Tamora’s malevolent servant/lover, Aaron) do the most substantive work. Martin Desjardins’ superb original music score also deserves mention.
“Titus Andronicus” has always been lesser Shakespeare, the Elizabethan equivalent of an E.C. comic book, and, in that context, Edwards’ no-holds-barred approach makes sense. So, kiddies, if you have a taste for melodrama at its most horrific, the Shakespeare Theatre Company has the perfect dish for you. Heh-heh-heh.
If you go
“Titus Andronicus”
» Venue: The Shakespeare Theatre Company, 450 7th St., NW
» Times: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays, 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
» Tickets: $19 to $76.25
» More info: 202-547-1122 or www.shakespearetheatre.org
