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Home , Philip Henslowe, Titus Andronicus

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018 ANDRONICUS: Know-the-Show Guide

Titus Andronicus by

Know-the-Show Audience Guide researched and written by the Education Department of

Artwork by Scott McKowen The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018 : Know-the-Show Guide

In this Guide – The Life of William Shakespeare...... 2 – Titus Andronicus: Director’s Note...... 3 – Titus Andronicus: A Synopsis...... 5 – Who’s Who in the Play...... 7 – Sources and History...... 8 – The Peacham Drawing...... 9 – Titus Andronicus: A Play for Our Time?...... 10 – Commentary & Criticism...... 11 – Theatre in Shakespeare’s Day...... 12 – In this Production...... 13 – Explore Online...... 14 – Sources & Further Reading...... 15

1 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018 TITUS ANDRONICUS: Know-the-Show Guide

The Life playwright. He wrote approximately 38 plays, two epic poems, William and over 150 sonnets. His work was immensely popular, appealing to members of all social spheres including Queen and Shakespeare King James I. While the plays were well-liked, Shakespeare’s of work was not considered by his educated contemporaries to be exceptional. By 1608, Shakespeare’s involvement with theatre William Shakespeare, widely began to dwindle, and he spent more time at his country home in recognized as the greatest English Stratford. He died in 1616. dramatist, was born on April 23, 1564. He was the third of eight Most of Shakespeare’s plays found children born to their first major publication and Mary Arden of Stratford- in 1623, seven years after upon-Avon in Warwickshire, Shakespeare’s death, when England. Shakespeare’s father was two of his fellow actors put a prominent local merchant, and the plays together in the First Shakespeare’s childhood, though Folio. Other early printings

National Portrait Gallery, London little is known about it for certain, of Shakespeare’s plays were appears to have been quite normal. called , a printer’s In fact, it seems that the young term referring to the format in Shakespeare was allowed considerable leisure time because his which the publication was laid writing contains extensive knowledge of and hawking. out. These quartos and the First In 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer. Folio texts are the sources of all She was eight years his senior, and the match was considered modern printings of Shakespeare’s unconventional. plays. The Shakespeare Family It is believed that Shakespeare left Stratford-upon-Avon and went Coat of Arms to London around 1588. By 1592, he was a successful actor and

2 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018 TITUS ANDRONICUS: Know-the-Show Guide

accessible glimpse into the potential of a young playwright just beginning Titus to find his voice.

The seduction of is clearly Andronicus central to the plot, but so are the Director’s Note consequences of revenge and, Titus Andronicus is a play that has been on my “wish list” since my surprisingly, the importance of college years - when Bruce Cromer, who plays the titular role in this family. Every atrocity that takes place production, was my Shakespeare professor. The play rightfully has in the vicious world of this play is a reputation for being Shakespeare’s bloodiest work, and that was committed either to protect family or certainly a major draw for me nearly three decades ago as a younger to exact revenge for a wrong done to artist – something wild and intense for audiences and artists alike. Since family. As a father now, I am struck then, I have become far more intrigued with the unexpected depths that by the sometimes twisted sense of John Boydell’s etching of the attack on as Tamora watches. the play possesses. Looking past the “shock and awe” moments of Titus, family that is set firmly at the heart one sees stark human stories filled with love and betrayal, desire and of this play. Titus forces us to take a longing, cruelty and compassion. I also hope that audiences and readers long, hard look at how far we would go for family in terms of revenge. will discover the beautiful poetry and imagery that ripple throughout the It then requires that we consider the consequences. What would you play. do if something unspeakable happened to your child or to your parent? How would you respond if all legal outlets were denied to you? What Written to appease the Elizabethan audience’s desire for revenge- if the community to whom you had been devoted suddenly turned its dramas, Titus was a kind of “pop-” for the up-and-coming back on you in your time of need? What might you do if, by chance, you Shakespeare. It was so popular that it was printed in form were given power over those who had wronged you? It is a frightening within its first year. The dynamic characters and diabolic blood-letting rabbit hole to go down because I expect, if honestly examined, many that enthralled the Elizabethans, often grab the spotlight, but now law-abiding individuals would find themselves committing previously with the advantage of perspective, one can also see the seeds of what unthinkable acts in the name of family. This is why I believe Titus is an Shakespeare would later nurture into his masterpieces. The drive of important play in the Shakespearean canon. Few artists examine the revenge becomes more considered and weighty in ; a parent’s human soul (especially the dark recesses we often attempt to deny) as anguish at the sight of their injured child is refined later in artfully as Shakespeare, and in doing so, he requires us to examine and the Henry VI plays; a mother’s desperate plea for her son’s life is ourselves. This is an arena in which Shakespeare soars. His revisited in Henry VI, Part Three; and the charismatic, ruthless villains writing captures shockingly honest glimpses into our humanity and inhumanity. Titus examines the darkest extremes find greater nuance in and Richard III. This is an exciting and 3 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018 TITUS ANDRONICUS: Know-the-Show Guide

“WHEN?” IN ROME of our desires, our hubris, our I workshopped an abridged version of the play with members of our Unlike Shakespeare’s other pettiness, our ambitions, our loves, Summer Professional Training Program. That workshop, which involved Roman plays, the story of Titus our cruelty, and our frailty; and over three dozen college-level actors, designers, technicians, directors, has no basis in historical fact in so doing so, I believe it allows and stage managers, reignited my curiosity and excitement about the play. or lore. In fact, the Rome that us, or encourages us, to consider It seems only right that this production is also infused with the enthusiasm he depicts never existed. There better paths to follow. and tenacity of the next generation of theatre artists. Supplementing are senators and , but our professional company (which includes two actors from that 2015 also emperors and familial When leaders make impulsive workshop), there will be over a dozen members of our Summer inheritance of power. As decisions based on petty conflicts Professional Training Program on stage and in the wings. the Shakespeare editor T.J.B. or personal ego, as we see in the Spencer explains, the play early moments of this play, the Brian B. Crowe, Director is “a summary of Roman entire foundation of a society can politics. It is not so much that be undermined. Many characters any particular set of political in Titus commit atrocities under institutions is assumed in Titus, TITUS BY THE NUMBERS the guise of societal traditions or but rather that it includes all the sacred ceremony. Public opinion political institutions that Rome “Titus Andronicus has is manipulated and swayed in a ever had.” 14 killings, 9 of them on stage, matter of a few lines based on the 6 severed members, whims of key figures in authority. 1 rape... We need only to look today’s daily live burial, news to see people celebrating the brutality and bloodshed perpetrated 1 on “the other” in their communities. We see the horrors of detention 1 case of insanity, and centers across the globe, calculated attacks on a nation’s own people, 1 of (case of) cannibalism families being ripped apart in strange lands, or Draconian actions taken — an average of 5.2 atrocities per Act, by leaders who have felt snubbed. I feel that Titus is a warning to us; or one (atrocity) for every 97 lines.” a microcosmic examination of what can happen when one chooses cruelty, violence, and revenge as one’s guiding force. It is a play for our -calculated by time. S. Clark Hulse, critic

I have explored this play twice before. As part of our 2010 Lend Us Your Ears series I directed a reading of the play, and then in 2015,

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the eldest son of the late emperor, be named the next leader of Rome, and the people accept his choice. In recognition of the honor which Titus Titus has bestowed on him, Emperor Saturninus promises to marry Titus’ only daughter, Lavinia. Lavinia, however, is already betrothed to Saturninus’ younger brother Bassianus, and the couple fleas under the protective Andronicus guard of her brothers. The youngest brother, Mutius, is left behind to A Synopsis defend against any pursuit. In a fit of fury Titus kills Mutius. Saturninus, offended by this public humiliation, quickly denounces the Andronici, Please note: Below is a full summary of the play. If you prefer not to and marries Tamora, the Queen of the instead. Tamora brokers a spoil the plot, consider skipping this section. peace between Saturninus and the Andronici, while secretly plotting to destroy Titus and his family. The families depart for a celebratory feast Following the death of the Emperor, Saturninus and Bassianus, the dead honoring Saturninus’ coronation, as well as the marriages of Saturninus to emperor’s sons, vie for the empery. Members of the Senate announce, Tamora and Bassianus to Lavinia. Saturninus agrees to join Titus and his however, that the people have selected the celebrated war hero, Titus family on a hunt the next day. Andronicus, to be their preferred candidate. Alone on stage, Aaron, Tamora’s secret lover, vows to follow the newly Titus and his sons triumphantly crowned empress in her rise to power. Hearing Tamora’s sons, Chiron return to Rome following a 10- and Demetrius, arguing over their desires for Lavinia, Aaron convinces year war with the Goths. Their the young men to take Lavinia by force while on the hunt. They include captives include the Queen of the new empress in their plans and soon have a plot to ensnare Bassianus, the Goths, Tamora; her three Lavinia, and two of Titus’ three remaining sons. sons; and Aaron, a Moor. As Titus prepares to bury two of his Aaron buries a bag of gold under a tree near a large pit in the forest and sons killed in the latest conflict instructs Tamora to deliver a forged note to Saturninus. When Bassianus with the Goths, his remaining and Lavinia see Tamora and Aaron together, they quickly suspect them sons demand a sacrifice to of being lovers. Before they can go tell the Emperor, however, Chiron appease the spirits of their fallen and Demetrius appear; they kill Bassianus and throw his corpse into the brethren. Titus offers Tamora’s large open pit. Lavinia pleads with Tamora for mercy, to no avail. After eldest son, who, despite his ravishing Lavinia, Chiron and Demetrius cut off her tongue and her hands mother’s desperate pleas, is taken so she cannot betray their identities to anyone who finds her. away and sacrificed. Meanwhile, Aaron lures Titus’ sons Martius and Quintus to the pit When offered the empery, Titus where Bassianus’ body lies. As planned, the brothers stumble into Thomas Kirk illustration of Young Lucius refuses. He asks that Saturninus, the pit and discover the body of the slain Bassianus. Aaron fleeing Lavinia, 1799. 5 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018 TITUS ANDRONICUS: Know-the-Show Guide quickly brings Saturninus to the same spot; Tamora, Titus, and Lucius calling for a parley. arrive shortly after. Aaron’s forged note details the plot to murder Bassianus and the gold buried as the murderer’s fee. Convinced that Outside the gates of Rome, Lucius’ army captures Aaron as he attempts to Martius and Quintus are responsible for Bassianus’ death, Saturninus escape with his infant son. After being assured of the safety of his child, has them arrested. Aaron confesses that he aided Chiron and Demetrius in the murder of Bassianus and the rape of Lavinia. He also confesses that he helped to Titus appeals to the noblemen of Rome to save the lives of his sons, but frame Lucius’ brothers for Bassianus’ death. he is ignored. Lucius, Titus’ eldest son, is banished for attempting to res- cue Martius and Quintus from prison. Meanwhile Marcus, Titus’ broth- In the meantime, Tamora, er, finds the mutilated Lavinia in the woods and brings her to her father. Chiron, and Demetrius disguise Devastated, the men lament the wrongs perpetrated on her, but do not themselves as the spirits of & know who is responsible. Aaron enters and informs Titus of the Em- Revenge, Rape, and Murder Lavinia’s attack is based on the tale of peror’s offer to save his sons from execution. If either Titus, Marcus, or and visit Titus. Titus pretends to Philomela as told in the sixth book of Lucius will send Saturninus one of their hands, the young men will live. believe their masquerade and ’s . In this story Titus quickly offers up his own hand and gives it to Aaron. Aaron’s trick agrees to arrange a feast for the Philomela, a princess of Athens, is raped works, and soon Titus is given back the heads of his executed sons and Emperor and Lucius. When by her brother-in-law, King Tereus of his own severed hand. Titus sends Lucius to the Goths to raise an army Tamora departs, leaving her two . To ensure her silence, he cuts to enact revenge, while he, Lavinia, and Marcus mourn their losses. sons with Titus, he cuts their out her tongue and hides her among his throats as Lavinia catches their slaves. Philomela, however, weaves her Several months have passed, when Lavinia comes across the story of blood in a basin. He plans to story into a which she sends to Philomela and Tereus which greatly resembles her own plight. Through bake the villains into pies which her sister , wife to Tereus. Seeking this book, she is able to communicate what happened to her to her he will feed to their mother at revenge, the sisters kill Tereus’ son and family. She scratches the names of her attackers in the dirt, and Titus the baquet. As secret treacheries bake him in a pie, which they serve to begins to plot his revenge in earnest. are revealed, the feast quickly Tereus. turns to chaos, resulting in the Meanwhile in the capital, Tamora gives birth. It is apparent, however, murders of Lavinia, Tamora, Titus, that the child is not Saturninus’, but Aaron’s. When she orders Aaron to and Saturninus. kill the child, he plots instead how to keep his child safe. Lucius is elected Emperor of Desperate for revenge, Titus attempts to summon the gods to his aid by Rome and condemns Aaron shooting arrows with messages into the heavens. The arrows fall into to be buried neck deep in the the palace of Saturninus, who rails on what he feels is blasphemous earth to starve to death. He also defamation of his empery. Word arrives that Lucius has amassed a orders that Tamora’s remains not powerful Goth army and is preparing to advance on Rome. Tamora receive a proper burial but be left Procne, Philomela and Tereus calms the Emperor and convinces him that she can persuade the “mad” for carrion birds. Driven Insane, Book VI, Illustration from Ovid’s Metamorphoses Titus to call off the attack. In the meantime, word is sent to Lucius 6 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018 TITUS ANDRONICUS: Know-the-Show Guide

Who’s Whoin the Play

THE ROYALS: CITIZENS OF ROME: SATURNINUS: The eldest son of the dead emperor. AEMILIUS: a nobleman of Rome. BASSIANUS: The youngest son of the dead emperor; betrothed to NURSE to Tamora Lavinia. Senators, Tribunes, and Judges Supporters of Saturninus and Supporters of Bassianus for the empery THE ANDRONICI: Messengers and Soldiers in the TITUS ANDRONICUS: A celebrated general in the Roman army, returning victorious from a decade-long war with the Goths. MARCUS ANDRONICUS: A of Rome; brother to Titus. LUCIUS: The eldest living son of Titus. QUINTUS: A son of Titus. MARTIUS: A son of Titus. MUTIUS: The youngest living son of Titus. LAVINIA: The only daughter to Titus; betrothed to Bassianus. YOUNG LUCIUS: The son of Lucius; grandson of Titus. PUBLIUS, SEMPRONIUS, and CAIUS: Relatives of Titus.

THE GOTHS: TAMORA: Queen of the Goths; arrives in Rome as captive to Titus. AARON: A Moor; lover to Tamora. ALARBUS: The eldest son of Tamora. DEMETRIUS: A son of Tamora. CHIRON: A son of Tamora. Soldiers in the Goth Army Costume renderings for Titus, Lavinia, and the Senators by Costume Designer Yao Chen © 2018.

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contemporary works Sources likely influenced the villainous character of Aaron, including History Christopher ’s The Jew Unlike his other& Roman plays (Julius , , of Malta and George and ), Shakespeare’s The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie Peele’s The Battell of of Titus Andronicus did not evolve from any accepted Roman legend Alcazar. or history. The play appears to take place in the later Roman Empire, but anachronistic details make it difficult to pinpoint a specific era. Shakespeare is Though no major source material for the play is known, numerous likely believed to have influences have been identified. An Italian prose narrative, The History written Titus of Titus Andronicus, the Renowned Roman General, and a ballad, Andronicus between Aaron Protecting His Son from Joseph Graves’ Dramatic Tales Founded on Shakespeare’s Plays, 1840 “Titus Andronicus’ Complaint,” appeared within a few years of the play, 1588 and 1593, but but since both works were anonymous and undated, scholars dispute the precise year has whether Shakespeare was influenced by these works or if these writers been debated. Regardless, it is his earliest tragedy and closely resembles were influenced by Shakespeare. Other potential inspirations for Titus the popular revenge of the day. The abundant use of include the Gesta Romanorum, a popular collection of Latin tales dating expressions and classical allusions – less frequent in later works – suggest from the thirteenth century, and the works of fellow Elizabethan writers a young playwright eager to prove himself. Some scholars suspect that and , both of whom Shakespeare is may have had a hand in writing portions of the play, while known to have consulted later in his career. others maintain that it is the work of Shakespeare alone. If there was a collaboration, Act One, Act Two Scene 1, and Act Four Scene 1 are Although sources for the overall plot of Titus Andronicus have considered to be the most likely sections with contributions from Peele. proven elusive, scholars have found clear inspirations for elements of Shakespeare’s play. The rape and mutilation of Lavinia strongly recorded the earliest known performance of Titus resemble the attack on Philomela depicted in Ovid’s Metamorphoses Andronicus in his diary on January 24, 1594. The play was a VI. Philomela’s revenge against her attacker is very similar to the tremendous box office success and it went on to be the most acts of revenge enacted on Tamora in Titus Andronicus. Additionally, profitable play of the 1594 season according to financial Titus’ revenge plot parallels the revenge cycle of Seneca’s , in records of the time. The play was so popular that it was soon which an enemy is tricked into devouring his own children. Several published in quarto form later that same year, making it

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RITUAL AND REVENGE

THE PEACHAM DRAWING “...throughout the play the response to the intolerable is ritualized, in language and action, because ritual is the ultimate means by which The only Shakespeare play for which we have any contemporaneous illustrations man seeks to order and control his precarious and unstable world.” is Titus Andronicus. Discovered on a single Folio sheet, the image depicts Tamora pleading to Titus to spare her son(s) from execution. Below the image ink -D.J. Palmer, from the Introduction drawing is a handwritten passage of 40 lines of text, uniting several elements of to the Arden Edition of Titus Andronicus the play...and even inventing a few others. The text includes Tamora’s speech, and abbreviated response from Titus and an invented line from Titus telling Aaron to repent his evil ways. This important document is known as The Peacham Drawing, the first of Shakespeare’s dramatic works to be published. There were because, on the bottom of the page a 19th-century librarian penciled “Written by two additional quarto printings of the play before it was included in The Henry Peacham — author of The Complete Gentleman). of Shakespeare’s plays in 1623. Beyond the unique singularity of its existence, The Peacham Drawing also gives us a glimpse into how plays were presented and costumed in Shakespeare’s day. As Although tremendously popular in the Elizabethan and Jacobean once can see, Tamora is dressed much like an English queen rather than a Goth. eras, the extreme violence of Titus Andronicus made the tragedy Titus wears an armored chestplate and toga-like sash, but the other soldiers are distasteful to later audiences. After the Restoration of 1660, it was adorned in what appear to be “modern” English and Celtic armor and attire. Aaron one of the few Shakespeare plays not brought back to the stage. Only and Tamora’s sons are decked in contemporaneous modified versions of the play were produced in England until 1923, Elizabethan-wear. Despite the ancient nature of the when Shakespeare’s original text was finally staged by story, Shakespeare’s actors predominantly seem to be dressed in everyday clothing with minor adjustments during ’s cycle of The Complete Works. Even so, directors (armor, crowns, etc) to represent the status of the remained leery of the piece until Peter Brooks’ critically acclaimed character for which they are presenting. Royal Shakespeare Company production in 1955, which starred as Titus, as Lavinia, and Antony Quayle as Aaron. Since then, a steady flow of productions have been mounted, with some attempting to portray the story’s gore realistically and others choosing to portray it symbolically. ’s 1994 theatrical production and similar 1999 film adaptation, entitled Titus, utilized a mixture of ancient and modern design to highlight the timelessness of the play’s violence. After being overlooked for several centuries, the frighteningly relevant and often brutal themes of Titus Andronicus are once again being explored by modern artists and audiences.

The Peacham Drawing; the earliest illustration of Shakespeare, and the only contemporaneous illustration, ca. 1595 9 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018 TITUS ANDRONICUS: Know-the-Show Guide

as it may be, found in the play. Even in recent years, one can see the Titus ever-increasing popularity of entertainments with a darker examination of the human experience with series like The Walking Dead, Game of Andronicus Thrones, or films like The Purge, to name a few. A Play for Our Time? “In its willingness to confront violence, often in ways that are simultaneously shocking and playful, our culture resembles that of Shakespeare’s first tragedy was modeled on a popular theatrical genre of the Elizabethans.” the era, the revenge-tragedy. It was incredibly successful from the time - , Introduction to the it was written until the Puritans closed the London theatres in 1642. Arden Edition of Titus Andronicus (1998) When the theatres reopened in 1660, however, opinions had changed, and Titus was suddenly considered a distasteful and inferior play. Many “Titus Andronicus may have become more acceptable thanks to scholars began to question whether Shakespeare had even written it. screen violence, from Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.” “The barbarity of the spectacles, and the general massacre - Leslie Dunton-Downer & Alan Rider, which are here exhibited, can scarcely be conceived tolerable to The Essential Shakespeare Handbook (2004) any audience.” - (1765)

“Indeed, the piece still feels like a play for today. With such “(Titus is) one of the stupidest and most uninspired plays ever horrors as Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia and Iraq fresh in the written, a play in which it is incredible that Shakespeare had any memory — the scenes of cruel depravity in Abu Ghraib might hand at all.” - T.S. Eliot (1927) have come straight from the twisted mind of Aaron, the drama’s Marlovian chief villain — Titus Andronicus strikes an all-too- The play was not seen in its original form on stage again until 1923 and familiar contemporary chord.” didn’t truly regain popularity until the mid 1950s. Since then, the play - Charles Spencer, The Telegraph (2006) has been presented regularly, though not frequently, in theaters. One must question why the play, which had been left behind for over 300 Regardless of why the play has returned to the popular canon, it years, reemerged into the theatrical canon. Some argue that the world’s provides a striking look at the human soul; an examination of understanding about the psychology of violence was forever altered how far one might go to save one’s family or enact revenge on following the first and second world wars, allowing audiences to see someone who has wronged them. another layer of the play. Others claim that cultural tastes had simply changed, and audiences were ready to hear the beautiful poetry, as dark 10 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018 TITUS ANDRONICUS: Know-the-Show Guide

full vent to blood, cruelty, disaster, and revenge. Indeed, he went so far Commentary that one can almost wonder if he weren’t deliberately pushing matters to the limit in order to express his disgust for the whole genre.” Criticism Isaac Asimov, Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare “This play is Shakespeare’s ultimate exploration of violence — religious & violence, domestic violence, political violence, sexual violence, punitive “I believe... it (Titus Andronicus) was one of the dramatist’s most violence. When directed this play, he had an ambulance inventive plays, a complex and self-conscious improvisation upon waiting to shuttle audience members to the hospital. Sir Laurence classical sources, most notably the Metamorphoses of Ovid.” Olivier, who played Titus, said at least three audience members fainted Jonathan Bate, from the Introduction to the every evening.” Arden edition of Titus Andronicus Kenji Yoshino, Revenge as Revenant

“...Titus Andronicus is certainly the least satisfying Shakespearean “In watching Titus Andronicus we come to understand ­— perhaps more tragedy, it was also his first attempt at the genre, and it has features than by looking at any other Shakespeare play — the nature of his genius: that suggest the grander achievements to come. Although it is inferior he gave an inner awareness to passions; cruelty ceased to be merely to later work, it is a fine play by the standards of 1590; the young physical. Shakespeare discovered the moral hell. He discovered heaven Shakespeare was already a successful professional playwright.” as well. But he remained on earth.” Charles Boyce, Shakespeare A to Z Jan Cott, Shakespeare, Our Contemporary

“For all our ‘civilized’ disgust at the Elizabethans’ enthusiasm for public “It seems like a play for today; it disemboweling and mutilation, are we morally any better than them? reeks of now.” Even though the amputations and cannibalism of Titus are not real, is Julie Taymor, director there not real pleasure in their seeming to be? This is entertainment, but (from an interview with Charlie Rose entertainment that goads us towards our own depravity — civilization on January 19, 2000) and barbarity, as inseparable as two sides of a piece of paper.” TimesHigherEducation.co.uk

“These blood-and-thunder plays written about horrible crimes and horrible revenges were immensely popular in Elizabethan times... Costume renderings for Chiron and Shakespeare had no objection to success and was perfectly willing to Demetrius by Costume Designer adjust himself to popular taste. In Titus Andronicus he therefore gave Yao Chen © 2018. 11 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018 TITUS ANDRONICUS: Know-the-Show Guide

WHAT DO I WEAR?

People often ask if shows Theatre at The Shakespeare in Shakespeare’s Day Theatre will be performed in “traditional dress” or SEEING A PLAY VS. HEARING A PLAY “like real Shakespeare.” Modern audiences go to the theater to see a play; but Shakespeare’s This comes up even more audiences would go to to hear a play. His audience was often with the history much more attuned to the language of the play, the inflections of plays. the actors’ voices, and rhythms of the poetry. This is not to say that Will Kempe in The Nine Wonders, ca. 1600. Shakespeare’s plays lacked visual interest; just that the visual elements It is interesting to note were not nearly as important as the language. that, though often sumptuous and expensive, the costumes used in Shakespeare’s plays were rarely correct to the period of the play. Most We see this is, in some ways, true today, at least in the words we use to often, actors were dressed in their finest attire (or clothes donated by describe attending the theatre. People who attend the theater are most wealthy patrons), and then these clothes were adorned with capes or often referred to as an “audience” sharing the root of audio or sound in crowns or other items denoting the character’s status. The shows in the name. Conversely, people who attend movies are often referred to Shakespeare’s day were simply put up too quickly to create elaborate as “movie-goers;” sports enthusiasts are often referred to as “spectators.” period-accurate costumes for the full company; noe did they have the money to do so. Therefore, despite popular assumption, a more accurate “traditional dress” approach to Shakespeare plays would be to dress actors in their finest contemporary clothing adorned with capes and crowns to denote status.

Second There were also very strict laws in Shakespeare’s day detailing what Globe clothes, styles, and colors citizens were allowed to wear. This was Theatre, a deliberate maneuver to reinforce the class structure of the era. detail from Hollar’s Penalties for violating these Sumptuary Laws could be quite severe View of ­— loss of property, imprisonment, fines, and even loss of title. These London, Sumptuary Laws meant that fashionable clothes could only be worn 1647. by the wealthy and were often only seen at a distance.

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Scenic rendering, preliminary rendering of the forest, and the model of the set for Titus Andronicus by Scenic Designer this Production Richard Block © 2018. In Costume renderings for Aaron, Saturninus, The Goddess of Revenge, Bassianus, and the Roman Army by Costume Designer, Yao Chen © 2018.

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Explore Online

SHAKESPEARE WROTE IN MODERN ENGLISH. Despite popular belief, Shakespeare did not write in Olde or even Middle English. Take a listen to these samples of Olde and Middle English for yourself. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL071DC49FD027E2A2

A link to the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Titus Andronicus page http://www.folger.edu./titus-andronicus

Read the story of Philomela and King Tereus, which was the foundation for Lavinia’s story in Titus Andronicus. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/t?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02 .0028%3Abook%3D6%3Acard%3D412

An exploration of race and relationships discussed in the BBC podcast SHAKESPEARE: LOVE ACROSS THE RACIAL DIVIDE, with a focus on Titus Andronicus. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07bc1tt

14 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey 2018 TITUS ANDRONICUS: Know-the-Show Guide Sources Further& Reading THE ANNOTATED SHAKESPEARE, Introductions, Notes, and THEATRE: A WAY OF SEEING, Third Edition by Milly S. Barranger Bibliography by A.L. Rowe THE ESSENTIAL SHAKESPEARE HANDBOOK, by Leslie Dunton-Downer A READER’S GUIDE TO SHAKESPEARE by Muriel B. Ingham and Alan Riding ASIMOV’S GUIDE TO SHAKESPEARE by Isaac Asimov SHAKESPEARE SET FREE, edited by Peggy O’Brien THE COMPLETE IDIOT’S GUIDE TO SHAKESPEARE, SHAKING HANDS WITH SHAKESPEARE, by Alison Wedell Schumacher by Laurie Rozakis THE : TITUS ANDRONICUS, edited by Jonathan Bate FREEING SHAKESPEARE’S VOICE by Kristin Linklater THE NEW CAMBRIDGE SHAKESPEARE: TITUS ANDRONICUS, edited by THE FRIENDLY SHAKESPEARE by Norrie Epstein Alan Hughes “NOTES ON TITUS ANDRONICUS” by LECTURES ON SHAKESPEARE by W. H. Auden TITUS OUT OF JOINT: READING THE FRAGMENTED TITUS THE MIRACLE OF LANGUAGE by Richard Lederer ANDRONICUS edited by Liberty Stanavage and Paxton Hehmeyer SHAKESPEARE A TO Z by Charles Boyce SHAKESPEARE AFTER ALL by Marjorie Garber SHAKESPEARE FOR BEGINNERS by Brandon Toropov SHAKESPEARE FOR DUMMIES by Doyle, Lischner, and Dench SHAKESPEARE’S IMAGERY by Caroline Spurgeon SHAKESPEARE IN PERFORMANCE, Consultant Editors Keith Parsons and Pamela Mason SHAKESPEARE: THE INVENTION OF THE HUMAN by SHAKESPEARE OUR CONTEMPORARY by

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