New American Shakespeare Tavern Presents TITUS ANDRONICUS, Now thru 11/25

The Atlanta Shakespeare Company at The New American Shakespeare Tavern present Titus Andronicus, directed by Drew Reeves. Previews run tonight, Nov 1, 2012 & Friday, Nov 2, 2012, with the regular run continuing through November 25th. Featuring Maurice Ralston as Titus and Agnes Harty as Tamora. 

Human sacrifice. Murder. Rape. Mutilation. Cannibalism and suicide. Beneath Shakespeare’s first tragedy, the tale of an ancient Roman’s descent into madness, revenge and redemption, is the careful crafting of the master. With Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare questions the essence of sanity and explores humankind’s capacity for violence and spiritual purity.

Audience Note: With more than a dozen violent deaths, this play contains a lot of blood, gore and adult themes. We recommend leaving the kids and the faint of heart at home.

A part of The Shakespeare Evolution Series: The Tragedies. Join the cast and crew members for a lively Question and Answer session on Sunday November 11 after the show!

Dramatis Personae

Saturninus - J.C. Long*
Bassianus - Jeffrey Stephenson
Titus Andronicus - Maurice Ralston*
Lavinia, daughter to Titus - Jennifer Alice Acker
Lucius, son to Titus - Andrew Houchins*
Quintus, son to Titus - Doug Graham
Martius, son to Titus - Nicholas Faircloth
Mutius, son to Titus - Cale Lawton
Marcus Andronicus, brother to Titus - J. Tony Brown*
Young Lucius, son to Lucius -Will Hodgdon
Publius - Cale Lawton
Sempronius, kinsman to Titus - Doug Kaye*
Caius, kinsman to Titus - Chris Rushing
Emilius, a noble Roman - Doug Graham
Tamora, Queen of the Goths - Agnes Harty*
Alarbus, son to Tamora - Daniel Carter Brown
Demetrius, son to Tamora - Daniel Parvis
Chiron, son to Tamora - JoNathan Horne
Aaron, a Moor beloved of Tamora - Brian Mayberry
Prisoners - Charles Umeano, Jennifer Lamourt
Nurse - Jennifer Lamourt
Saturninus followers - Jennifer Alice Acker, Will Hodgdon, Brian Mayberry, Chris Rushing, Charles Umeano, Jennifer Lamourt
Bassianus followers - Daniel Carter Brown, Daniel Parvis, JoNathan Horne, Matt Felten
Executioner - Charles Umeano
Captain - Matt Felten
Messenger - Charles Umeano
Clown - Matt Felten
Goths - Nicholas Faircloth, Daniel Carter Brown, Chris Rushing
Tribunes - Doug Kaye*
Goth Soldiers - Cale Lawton, Jeffrey Stephenson, Daniel Parvis, JoNathan Horne, Matt Felten, Charles Umeano, Jennifer Lamourt
Judges - Cale Lawton, Doug Kaye* Daniel Carter Brown, Matt Felten
Attendants - Jeffrey Stephenson, Matt Felten, Charles Umeano, Jennifer Lamourt

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

Synopsis (The Pocket Companion to Shakespeare’s Plays by J C Trewin): Two sons of the late Roman Emperor, Saturninus (the elder) and Bassianus, strive to succeed him, but Titus Andronincus, veteran general triumphant against the Goths, is chosen. He has just returned with his prisoners: Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her sons, and Aaron, her Moorish paramour. Heedless of entreaty, Titus orders her eldest son, Alarbus, to be sacrificed to appease the spirits of his own dead sons. He refuses the crown, urging the choice of Saturninus, to whom he gives his daughter Lavinia and yields his Gothic prisoners. Bassianus, secretly pledged to Lavinia, runs off with her; Saturninus, to curb the influence of Titus, announces that he will marry Tamora, who tells him to remain silent while she plans revenge upon the Andronici.

In a rush of events orchestrated by Aaron, Tamora’s sons, Demetrius and Chiron, kill Bassianus during a hunt in the forest. They rape Lavinia, cut off her hands and cut out her tongue. Meanwhile, Aaron manages to implicate the sons of Titus in the murder of Bassianus. They are sentenced to death and another son, Lucius, is banished. Titus, already overcome by the plight of Lavinia, is tricked into losing his hand as fruitless ransom for his sons.

While Lucius is raising a revenging army among the Goths, the mutilated Lavinia, by the manipulation of a staff in the sand, accuses Chiron and Demetrius. Titus behaves like a mad man, dispatching messages to the gods to redress his wrongs.

Tamora has had a black child by Aaron, who removes it for safety; captured by the Gothic army on its way, under Lucius, to attack Rome, he tells the whole story. Tamora, seeking to persuade Titus – whom she regards as merely crazed – to recall Lucius, has come to him dressed as Revenge, with her two sons as Murder and Rape. Having promised to invite “the Empress and her sons” and Saturninus, with Lucius, to a feast, Titus – who has seen through the charade – later kills Chiron and Demetrius and at the banquet serves their flesh baked in a pie. The end is a frenzy in which Lavinia, Tamora, Titus and Saturninus all die. Lucius becomes Emperor and after sentences Aaron to be buried breast-deep and starved to death.

More Articles by This Author...