Returning to Rome from a war against the Goths, the general Titus Andronicus brings with him the queen Tamora and her three sons as prisoners of war. Titus' sacrifice of Tamora's eldest son to appease the ghosts of his dead sons, and his decision to refuse to accept the title of emperor, initiates a terrible cycle of mutilation, rape and murder. And all the while, at the centre of the nightmare, there moves the villainous, self-delighting Aaron. From Hong Kong. Considered the most harrowing and controversial of Shakespeare s plays, Titus Andronicus is one of the all-time great revenge stories. This production had its world premiere in Cantonese in Hong Kong in early 2008, and was followed by a story-telling version, Titus Andronicus 2.0, in 2009. Both versions sought to explore extreme acting techniques in a minimalist setting under director, Tang Shu-wing. The text of the play is delivered through the voice, facial expression, movements, breathing, spatial displacement and immobility to create a singular aesthetic somewhere between Western realism and Asian stylisation. Strongly physical and minimalist, the Globe version in 2012 will at the same time contain a unique display of the hybrid cultural peculiarity of Hong Kong. Performed in Cantonese.| 3 May 12 to 4 May 12 | Shakespeare's Globe Theatre West End, Greater London Performance Details => Venue archive |
