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| published 1600 |
It’s no shock that Titus Andronicus is rarely staged in
this day in age, as it is so gruesome. However, this isn’t a pattern that is
new to this millennium. Titus Andronicus performances
were thin and few during its first debut, the play was popular and received
positive feedback, in fact, in 1604, it was ranked
higher than Romeo and Juliet. There
is a gap during leading up to the Restoration period where there are no
documented performances of Titus
Andronicus, but Shakespeare historians do not believe that this is
indisputable proof that it was not being performed.
During the 1600’s several adaptations of Titus Andronicus were written and performed. The most famous in 1678, written by Edward Ravencroft, mainly alters the ending of the Shakespeare tragedy. His ending, where Aaron has been suspended on a rack during the unraveling of Titus’s dinner, ends with Lucius sentencing. Aaron. Ravecroft’s adaptation was extremely successful in the theater realm. His adaptation was performed regularly.
The years of 1725—1838 were sad years for Titus Andronicus, there was a complete absence in its performance. The trends of theatre of the time resulted in a dismissal from the horror genre, causing for many of Shakespeare’s play to undergo a time of absence. Come 1839, Titus Andronicus is performed not only for the first time in 100 years, but also for the first time in the United States. It is noted that the play was dormant again throughout 1861—1922.
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| Headline from The Telegraph, A UK based news outlet |
More recently, a headline reads, “Globe audience
faints at 'grotesquely violent' Titus Andronicus.” 5 audience members
reportedly fainted during the performance. Many supposedly fainted because of
the amount of blood shed. Is Titus
Andronicus underperformed/performed sporadically because of staging complications,
because of the portrayal of females and chastity, or is it really just too
gruesome for your average theater—goer to handle?
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