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'Titus' for the ghoul season
By JOHN FLEMING, Times performing arts critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 17, 2002
[Publicity photo]
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Halloween-themed Shakespeare is the idea behind Jobsite Theater's Titus Andronicus. It's generally considered to be one of Shakespeare's worst plays -- even Harold Bloom, the preeminent Shakespearean scholar, calls it "a poetic atrocity" -- but it has a certain currency nowadays. Julie Taymor of Lion King fame made a movie of it, and its narrative of rape and murder fits right into our violent age.
Because it is rarely performed, any staging of Titus is something of an occasion. Jobsite is touting it as a thriller-diller for the ghoul season, as adapted by director David Jenkins.
"Audiences will be surprised at how accessible this production is," Jenkins says. "Shakespeare can be so much fun. It doesn't have to be pretentious or boring or difficult to understand. To me, this play illuminates the very nature of war and power and humankind's propensity for revenge. I've even adapted the original play to make it shorter and to make it more conversational."
The cast includes John Snell (Titus Andronicus) and Ami Sallee Corley (Queen Tamora). Titus Andronicus opens tonight and runs through Nov. 3 in Shimberg Playhouse of Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $15.50-$21.50. (813) 229-7827 or see www.tbpac.org.
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