Titus Andronicus, Arcola - theatre review

Shakespeare's early gore-fest collides with a This is England-type slice of the 1980s in Zoe Ford's startlingly confident, high-energy production
15 October 2013

When Shakespeare wrote about Roman general Titus Andronicus taking on the Goths, I don't think he envisaged the foe wearing black t-shirts and eye-liner. But like the man said elsewhere, 'What's in a name?' and this sartorial rebranding is all part of director Zoe Ford’s startlingly confident take on Shakespeare’s early gore-fest. The setting is a This is England-type slice of the 1980s, all skin heads, DMs and Union flags, and Ford sticks to her ambitious vision with notably whole-hearted commitment.

The one downside to this slickly-edited, high-energy production is the verse-speaking, which is all over the place. Some degree of clarity and comprehensibility is perforce lost through this, as is any meaningful purchase on that slippery villain Aaron. Yet given that the original - with its rape, mutilation, human sacrifice and cannibalism – isn’t stuffed full of narrative logic, the loss is less than it could be. What’s abundantly clear throughout is the lust for vengeance that drives this clan-centred group of people. The ordeal suffered by Lavinia (feisty Maya Thomas) is kinetically graphic; Saturninus (Pip Gladwin) meets his end by having his head slammed in a barbecue. Not a single spilt drop of blood is left unshown and the cumulative impact is tremendous.

Titus (David Vaughn Knight) is a swaggering gang leader who makes his first entrance with a jaunty ‘Oi oi’ and is ultimately undone, as is almost everyone, by his lack of mercy. From bodies strewn at the finale, the cast bounce on for the curtain call to the buoyant strains of Our House by Madness. For all its faults, this is the most exciting fringe production I’ve seen this year.

Until Oct 26 (020 7503 1646, arcolatheatre.com)

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