Literary Event #2: Titus Andronicus Review in 589 Words

            On Saturday May 25^th I saw a Stanford production of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus at Lake Lagunita. The production was unique because all of Lake Lagunita was used as a stage. The play moved from location to location, the actors and storylines splitting up, leaving the audience with the decision of who to follow. This structure had disadvantages as it limited the viewer to only segments of the play, but it also added an intimate and most-enjoyable interactive to the play. The audience became deeply involved in their particular storylines, engrossing them in the point of view of one character. I followed the brothers Demetrius and Chiron. I was rewarded with blood, rape, a loogie contest, and of course more blood. It was a smashing good time.

            The play started at the Lake Lagunita fire-pits. There was no dimming of the lights or shushing of the ushers to start the play, rather a few blood, ragged actors ran through the crowd and began speaking. There was no defined ‘onstage’ or ‘offstage’ which meant that all the world was a stage, and all of us merely players. Indeed the audience members were often encouraged to participate in the play. After the first scene, the cast splintered off into factions, each entreating you to follow their particular story. And this was not the last of their entreaties; the actors interacted and played off the audience throughout the show. They would point at you and grin sinisterly, run by and bump you, ask you hold things. I was even dragged up a gnoll and invited to spit a loogie as far as possible in competition with two of the actors and another audience member. The interactive nature of the production certainly made it a unique experience adding much individual character-driven emotional intensity, but parts the play were certainly lost at the cost of this.

            The benefits of the interactive style are excitement and an intimate connection with your character and his storyline. No one will fall asleep during this production, that’s for sure. Walking around with a character puts the audience more directly into the characters’ lives and brings the play to life with a new level of realism. We have a privileged position not just as spectators of but as participants in the mayhem of Titus Andronicus. The participation of the audience leads to greater connections formed with the characters than a traditionally staged play would provide. The super-focalization on one character and one storyline is very powerful, but it is also a cause for distress as you miss parts of the plays.

            The obvious drawback to the production is as a viewer you only see about 25% of Titus Andronicus. You miss particular characters, storylines, and (most tragically) some of Shakespeare’s speeches. Now, most Shakespeare plays are heavily cut when produced, but this production takes abridgement to a new level. While I enjoyed the total immersion into the character of Titus, I couldn’t help but grieve the lack of the other characters. I was very curious what they were doing, saying, and plotting (as Shakespeare characters always are). Perhaps this curiosity drew other spectators back to see the production several more times, but for me it was just annoying.

            The production seemed like a different play than Titus Andronicus, not necessarily worse, but different. As it focalized on particular character arcs much emotion and intensity was gained, but a general appreciation of the play was lost. Overall, I quite it enjoyed it though.

~Mike Gioia