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Titus - Washington Ensemble Theatre review
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by David Wittstock
It’s been my experience that you either love or hate Shakespeare’s first play, Titus Andronicus. I’ll admit I fall on the side of disliking it. I don’t enjoy its over-the-top violence, its often flat characters, or the fact that one of my favorite actors, Anthony Hopkins, starred in a really bad version of it 10 years ago.
But that aside, I enjoyed Katjana Vadeboncoeur and the Washington Ensemble Theatre’s take on Titus as much as anyone who fundamentally dislikes a script can.
Notorious for being one of Shakespeare’s most violent plays, many love it for its gory and cheesy nature. But if you’re expecting buckets of fake blood to get thrown around the stage, this isn’t your play. The design team instead opts for confetti and rose petals blown by characters or shot from slingshots.
This decision is a small part of what makes this production work; WET does an excellent job balancing the tone of the play. Instead of creating the dark, erotic production that usually comes with Titus, Vadeboncoeur and the WET create something more surreal and dreamlike, ultimately drawing more attention to themes of grief than to the spectacle of revenge and murder.
The menacing core of the play is still there, but it’s given a little relief by short, artistic dance numbers, old jazz songs, and the projection of images such as raindrops in the background.
The cast does a fine job: guest performer Adam Standley in particular makes a rock star out of the evil emperor Saturninus, and Nathan Sorseth, playing Titus in his WET debut plays the role with confidence.
Despite my prejudice coming in, the Washington Ensemble Theatre has impressed me once again with its creativity and enthusiasm, and if you’ve never seen Titus before, this version is the one to go to.
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