Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeare's more controversial works; written while his style was under the goretastic Christopher Marlowe's influence, it's a very bloody, very flawed play. In the authorship debates, Titus Andronicus is one of the first plays to be offered candidacy for a non-Shakespeare playwright.
Andronicus then retaliates, and so on until everyone is dead. In essence, this is a revenge tragedy. I love it, and was very excited to see it at the Tom Patterson stage, my very favourite stage at the Stratford Festival.
Briefly, the play concerns two families; the Andronici, who have suffered great losses in the wars against the Goths, and the royal family of the Goths, now captured and in Rome's possession. The patriarch of the Andronici, Titus Andronicus, sacrifices one of the Goth Queen Tamora's sons. Somehow, Tamora is put in a position of power over the Andronici, and uses her new untouchability to wreak havoc on the once-glorious family.
Andronicus then retaliates, and so on until everyone is dead. In essence, this is a revenge tragedy. I love it, and was very excited to see it at the Tom Patterson stage, my very favourite stage at the Stratford Festival.
