{"id":104,"date":"2022-04-12T09:40:50","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T09:40:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/?p=104"},"modified":"2022-06-11T14:09:37","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T14:09:37","slug":"speechless-complainer-unnatural-violence-in-dominic-walshs-titus-andronicus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/speechless-complainer-unnatural-violence-in-dominic-walshs-titus-andronicus\/","title":{"rendered":"<em>\u201cSpeechless Complainer\u201d<\/em>: (Un)natural Violence in Dominic Walsh\u2019s <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Ilana Gilovich-Wave<\/strong><a href=\"#end\" name=\"back\">*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Abstract<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap abstract\">Dominic Walsh\u2019s 2008 dance adaptation of <font class=\"no-italics\">Titus<\/font> opens up new possibilities in Shakespeare\u2019s text, ones that bring Lavinia\u2019s character to the fore. In many theatrical productions, Lavinia remains an aesthetic backdrop in Titus\u2019 narrative of revenge. Walsh focuses less on Lavinia\u2019s role as a catalyst for her father\u2019s revenge and, instead, emphasizes her own traumatic experience as a survivor of sexual violence. Therefore, Walsh\u2019s <font class=\"no-italics\">Titus<\/font> is an important challenge to Shakespeare\u2019s text, one that situates dance as a feminist mode of expression for reimagining a classic theatrical narrative. This production makes a case for dance as an urgent critical tool to interpret Shakespeare\u2019s plays, as well as a means of questioning traditional or \u201cnatural\u201d balletic gendering. <br><br><strong>Keywords: <\/strong>Shakespeare, dance, ballet, gender, adaptation<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>William Shakespeare is no stranger to the dance floor. His plays contain many references to dance and have inspired countless dance adaptations across the centuries, from classical ballets to Broadway musicals and hip-hop productions. Some Shakespearean works lend themselves to movement more readily than others: <em>Romeo and Juliet<\/em> and <em>A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/em>, for example, with their romantic themes and celestial references, are frequently adapted for ballet productions. Less utilized are Shakespeare\u2019s gruesome tragedies. In <em>The New York Times<\/em>, Alastair Macaulay questions, \u201cHow do you dance \u2018to be or not to be\u2019 or \u2018hath not a Jew hands\u2019 or \u2018All the world\u2019s a stage\u2019? Fat chance.\u201d He states, \u201cAs far as I know, nobody has choreographed Shylock or Falstaff; I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve wished they would. Much about Shakespeare is intensely visual though\u201d (Macaulay). Within the canon, <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em> may be Shakespeare\u2019s most \u201cintensely visual\u201d play, with its numerous images of blood, gore and dismemberment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em> may seem an unconventional choice for a dance adaptation, Dominic Walsh took up the challenge to stage this bloody tragedy as a modern dance production in 2008. Walsh, former principal dancer and artistic director of the Houston Ballet Company, founded Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre in 2002 and yearned to stage a version of <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em> \u201cfor nearly a decade\u201d (Glentzer). His \u201cstylish, whimsical, ultra-modern adaptation\u201d finally premiered at the Hobby Center in Houston, Texas, in October 2008 (Smith). Walsh collaborated with Two Star Orchestra (scoring) and Frederique de Montblanc (sets and costuming) to create a startling adaptation of <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em>, set in an airport security screening area and populated by dancers sporting pristine, country club attire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This essay will undertake a reading of Walsh\u2019s modern dance adaptation <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em> in relation to the Shakespearean playtext. Walsh creates an augmented, dynamic role for the Lavinia character that expands upon the Shakespeare\u2019s text. Therefore, Walsh\u2019s <em>Titus<\/em> challenges conceptions of the Shakespearean playtext as \u201cmeaningless spectacle\u201d and \u201cgloatingly grotesque\u201d (Dickson 1). I argue that Walsh\u2019s choreographic choices enable a feminist recovery of Shakespeare\u2019s Lavinia character, through various stylistic choices of staging, choreography, set and costume design, and musical composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dominic Walsh Dance Theater-Titus Andronicus (Scene 1)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/abHPFhTm8TM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cThe palace full of tongues, of eyes, and ear\u201d: Staging <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>As Shakespeare\u2019s bloodiest tragedy, \u201cthe contest for power in <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em> takes place on the battlefield of the flesh\u201d and \u201cis grounded on the systematic destruction of bodies\u201d (Dickson 4). In Shakespeare\u2019s play, even the body politic has been dismembered\u2014the narrative begins with an initiative \u201cto set a head on headless Rome\u201d (<em>Titus<\/em> 1.1.186). Walsh affirms that <em>Titus<\/em> is \u201can incredibly physical play,\u201d one that is saturated with violence (Lu). In devising his adaptation, Walsh and his designer Frederique de Montblanc \u201cdiscussed humanity\u2019s impulse to contain violence\u201d and \u201cwanted a closed-feeling space to signify that\u201d (Glentzer). Thus, the performance takes place within an airport security screening station. A metal detector stands stage right and a transparent plastic barrier stretches across the upstage area, behind which dancers are queued, clutching their possessions in large grey bins. This fictional airport is a site in which bodies are subjected to scrutiny, and citizens temporarily exchange their liberty for safety by submitting to security procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In theory, the pedestrian \u201cdance\u201d that occurs throughout all airport security areas operates under a presumed threat of violence: travelers participate in highly choreographed patterns of movement to ensure their safety from potential acts of terrorism. In Walsh\u2019s production, dancers engage with the architecture of the security barrier, emerging behind or in front of it to highlight their vacillating positions of power. When Tamora\u2019s son Alarbus dies, his blood splatters across the transparent blockade, leaving Tamora to hurl her body against the plastic. Props as well as set pieces instantiate themes of political violence\u2014scissors, golf clubs, riding crops, tennis rackets, knives and, finally, a blender\u2014illustrate increasing displays of savagery at the<em> hands <\/em>of the elite, as wielded by the dancers.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"217\" src=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image1-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption>Screenshot from&nbsp;<em>Vimeo<\/em>&nbsp;recording of&nbsp;<em>Titus Andronicus<\/em>. Direction and choreography by Dominic Walsh. Music by Two Star Symphony. Lighting Design by Robert Eubanks. Scenic and Costume Design: Fr\u00e9d\u00e9rique de Montblanc. Costume Construction: Jane Thayer. World Premiere: 16 October 2008. Dancer Domenico Luciano (Titus) in the foreground, with Choral Dancers (Richard Hubsher, Luana Moscagiuli, Lauren Bettencourt, Lauren di Fede, Beth Everitt) in the background<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Walsh uses a smaller cast to create a more intimate, close-knit version of Shakespeare\u2019s play\u2014 Marcus does not appear, nor do Titus\u2019 sons and grandson. This artistic decision foments a darker ending, in which no new political regime arises to reinstate order and hope in Rome. However, this closing is one of many subtle alterations in Walsh\u2019s production that engage our sympathies on behalf of Lavinia\u2019s character. The performance\u2019s lack of narrative closure suggests that the brutal assault on Lavinia prohibits any possibility of societal redemption. Instead, her psychological turmoil becomes the focal point of the production and lingers in the audience\u2019s collective consciousness until the final curtain closes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cHer Martyred Signs\u201d: Lavinia\u2019s Embodied Expression<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>In his <em>Titus<\/em>, Walsh takes pains to establish Lavinia as a quintessential ing\u00e9nue character, before subverting audience\u2019s expectations in order to deviate from her characterization as a mere \u201cchanging piece\u201d in Shakespeare\u2019s text (<em>Titus<\/em> 1.1.309). Walsh describes Lavinia as \u201ca very proper girl in the beginning . . . a 50s housewife\u201d (Lu). This initial portrayal aligns with the Lavinia of Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cthematically patriarchal world,\u201d in which \u201csexuality is a family matter that only the father can deal with\u201d (Kahn 47\u201348).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Walsh\u2019s production, Lavinia\u2019s first duet with her father is telling; Titus manipulates Lavinia\u2019s body in their partnering steps, extending and circling her arms like a puppeteer as she kneels in positions of spatial inferiority. Lavinia\u2019s flexed hands, held outwards from her body, conjure doll-like imagery, which further stresses her role as a manipulate-able object. They also foreshadow the mutilation to come.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"205\" src=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-112\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image2.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image2-300x137.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption>Screenshot from&nbsp;<em>Vimeo<\/em>&nbsp;recording of&nbsp;<em>Titus Andronicus<\/em>. Direction and choreography by Dominic Walsh. Music by Two Star Symphony. Lighting Design by Robert Eubanks. Scenic and Costume Design: Fr\u00e9d\u00e9rique de Montblanc. Costume Construction: Jane Thayer. World Premiere: 16 October 2008. Dancer Dawn Dippel (Lavinia) in the foreground, with Choral Dancers (Domenico Luciano, Luana Moscagiuli, Lauren Bettencourt, Lauren di Fede, Beth Everitt) in the background<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Through this particular choreographic sequence, Walsh highlights Shakespeare\u2019s conception of Lavinia as woman-turned-property. In Shakespeare\u2019s play, Bassianus frequently asserts his ownership over Lavinia, declaring, \u201cthis maid is mine,\u201d and calling her \u201cmy own\u201d (<em>Titus<\/em> 1.1.279-413). Titus expresses a similar sovereignty over Lavinia, instructing her \u201cby my advice, all humbled on your knees\u201d (<em>Titus<\/em> 1.1.482). Although Walsh preserves Lavinia\u2019s submissive relationship to Titus, he diverges from the Shakespearean playtext by constructing a more equitable partnership between Lavinia and Bassianus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rather than a typical romantic <em>pas de deux<\/em>, which features the man lifting the woman, Walsh choreographs two playful duets for Bassianus and Lavinia in which they sway, hop and glide in unison. When Bassianus does lift Lavinia, it is she who initiates the movement; providing her arm or leg to signal consent before he steps in to carry her. The two dancers perform several weight-sharing partner movements throughout their duets, illustrating the balanced dependence between Bassianus and Lavinia. Often, Lavinia acts as the dominant partner, approaching Bassianus from behind to grasp him in a hug or to support his head as she places her head over his. Moreover, Lavinia\u2019s movements are less staccato and jerky in these sequences; her choreography with Bassianus reads as fluid and comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This display of mutual passion deviates from Shakespeare\u2019s text, in which Bassianus\u2019 avowal of love is met with Lavinia\u2019s passive silence in Act 1 Scene 1 of <em>Titus<\/em>. In fact, several scholars, including Gayle Rubin and Bernice Harris, have drawn comparisons between Lavinia\u2019s physical rape in Act 2 Scene 3 and her symbolic rape\u2014\u201cthe abduction of a woman as property\u201d\u2014by Bassianus in Act 1 Scene 1 (Harris 388). Shakespeare does not provide Lavinia with lines affirming her active consent to marry Bassianus; therefore, this amorous <em>pas de deux<\/em> has no textual equivalent in Shakespeare\u2019s play. In Walsh\u2019s production, however, Lavinia consensually engages in a partnership in which she moves as freely as her counterpart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walsh\u2019s deeper investment in the Lavinia-Bassianus relationship shifts the object of \u201ccollateral damage\u201d from Lavinia to Bassianus, so that the latter\u2019s death is used to amplify the brutality of Lavinia\u2019s assault (Halpern 52). When Chiron and Demetrius sunder the reciprocal romance between Bassianus and Lavinia, they halt the empowering male-female partnership in which Lavinia exercised her will to choose. At the beginning of the assault scene, Tamora\u2019s sons drag Bassianus offstage as Lavinia clings desperately to his corpse. Because Bassianus and Lavinia appear as co-entities in this tableau, they are the first metaphorical limb severed as Lavinia is forced to part from her lover. This image parallels Shakespeare\u2019s corresponding scene, in which Lavinia avers, \u201cFor \u2018tis not life that I have begged so long;\/ Poor I was slain when Bassianus died\u201d (<em>Titus<\/em> 2.3.170\u2013171). Bassianus\u2019 murder is the first of many assaults on Lavinia; she then begs Tamora for mercy from impending sexual violation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walsh\u2019s staging of the rape scene magnifies the disparity between Shakespeare\u2019s playtext and Walsh\u2019s own production. Critics have characterized Lavinia\u2019s plea to Tamora in Shakespeare\u2019s <em>Titus<\/em> as \u201cunpersuasive\u201d and \u201clack(ing) fluency\u201d (Packard 287), which suggests \u201cthe limitations of the authority vested in Lavinia\u2019s voice\u201d (Detmer-Goebel 80). Conversely, Walsh lends pathos to Lavinia\u2019s physicalized entreaty by supplying her with a lively solo in place of the monologue, which characterizes her as affecting despite her terror. Tamora remains unmoved by Lavinia\u2019s piteous movements\u2014\u201cI will not hear her speak\u201d\u2014and encourages her sons\u2019 rapaciousness by caressing them sensuously (<em>Titus<\/em> 2.3.137). Here, the choreography shifts as Lavinia remains (trans)fixed while Chiron and Demetrius encircle her; \u201cpart of their glee derives from their ability to turn Lavinia into the exaggeratedly passive, silent woman they took her for\u201d (Ray 36). In this tableau, Walsh shifts focus from what Lavinia\u2019s body can do (dexterity through movement) to what it can be made to be (a site of defilement). Lavinia\u2019s dancing devolves into stillness as the brothers caress her, violating the previous construction of Lavinia\u2019s body as something to be seen but not touched. Lavinia performs only subtle protective movements, attempting to shield herself (particularly her genital area) from the men\u2019s advances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this pivotal scene, rather than simply depicting an assault in which Lavinia is the victim, Walsh performs a stylistic indictment of Chiron and Demetrius and turns their cruelty itself into spectacle. Walsh harnesses various production design elements to pull focus away from her victimhood and onto their barbarism. Strobe lights mimic alarm sirens as Chiron and Demetrius tug at Lavinia\u2019s costume, which unravels into threads as she symbolically ruptures in their hands.&nbsp; Music dies as the orchestra halts, revealing the sounds of Lavinia\u2019s whimpering and the men\u2019s cruel laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walsh uses sensationalist tactics on Lavinia\u2019s perpetrators in order to visually critique sexual violence and its agents. For example, when this trio appears onstage again, a stark tonal shift in the performance signals that a violation of Lavinia\u2019s body also violates the very fabric of Walsh\u2019s production. Red gel lights bathe the stage in crimson, as piped-in prerecorded music replaces the live orchestra\u2014a clear breach of the aesthetic collaboration hitherto observed in this production. The prerecorded song playing is Shirley Temple\u2019s rendition of \u201cOn the Good Ship Lollipop,\u201d from the 1934 film <em>Bright Eyes<\/em>. Chiron is a lurid version of Temple, sporting tap shoes and Lavinia\u2019s skirt. The invocation of Temple enhances the perversity of this scene\u2014Temple\u2019s voice accompanying a scene of sexual violation signals pedophilic undertones. Chiron\u2019s movements are therefore a physical correlative to Demetrius\u2019 taunting lines in Shakespeare\u2019s text: \u201cSo, now go tell, an if thy tongue can speak,\/ Who \u2018twas that cut thy tongue and ravished thee\u201d (<em>Titus<\/em> 2.4.1\u20132). Detmer-Goebel writes, \u201cthe rapists mock her inability to speak, write, wash, or even hang herself,\u201d arguing that \u201cthe brutality of the rape is . . . intensified by their grotesque satisfaction with Lavinia\u2019s enforced silence\u201d (Detmer-Goebel 81). Walsh conveys this mockery through gesture when Lavinia\u2019s assailants cup their hands to their ears and then shake their heads, indicating that Lavinia can make no noise\u2014just as Temple sings \u201cI want to make some noise\u201d (Whiting). Walsh\u2019s visual choices draw audience attention to the brothers, particularly Chiron, in order to overtly critique their behavior in a way that Shakespeare\u2019s written playtext does not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walsh alternates attention between Lavinia and Chiron\/Demetrius and, by doing so, avoids making a mutilated female body the sole aesthetic object of this scene. When Walsh focuses on Lavinia\u2019s body, he does so in a way that criticizes the figurative wounds of patriarchal violence. For example, Demetrius peels off Lavinia\u2019s blonde tresses, exposing them as an artificial wig and revealing her natural auburn hair beneath. Here, Lavinia is stripped of the trappings that signal her position as virginal ing\u00e9nue, an idealized version of femininity. In this moment, spectators might be spurred to question why Lavinia wears her wig and why women are compelled to visually represent their purity. When the brothers ravage the very construction of the virginal ideal, Walsh again points to the ways in which Shakespeare\u2019s playtext situates Lavinia as property. Chiron and Demetrius destroy Titus\u2019 careful investment in Lavinia: \u201cFor Titus, Lavinia\u2019s worth resides in her exchange value as a virgin daughter\u201d (Kahn 49). Walsh exposes the brothers\u2019 villainy <em>and<\/em> critiques the oppressive aesthetic demands placed upon women beyond the immediate context of this scene: \u201cthe violence that is always already involved in attempting to speak of and for Lavinia\u201d (Aebischer 31). In the assault scene, Lavinia herself\u2014displayed in her underwear\u2014becomes a prop, as her attackers prop her up and dance with her while she remains limp. Walsh stresses the trauma of this scene by shifting Lavinia\u2019s vital, dancing body into listlessness; a stillness that signals the termination of physical and social freedom. The first act of Walsh\u2019s production concludes with this scene, marking Lavinia\u2019s assault as the thematic crux of <em>Titus<\/em>\u2019 narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walsh\u2019s <em>Titus<\/em> enables a feminist reading of Shakespeare\u2019s playtext, particularly regarding the aftermath of Lavinia\u2019s assault. Arguably, Walsh\u2019s violation scene parallels Shakespeare\u2019s: Lavinia\u2019s maimed body limits her vocabulary of movement in Walsh\u2019s dance just as her missing tongue limits her vocalization in Shakespeare\u2019s playtext. In both mediums, whether Shakespeare\u2019s text or Walsh\u2019s choreography, forced sexual intercourse prohibits future expressive intercourse. However, here I argue that Walsh\u2019s production endows the Lavinia character with greater agency than Shakespeare\u2019s playtext does. After losing her tongue, Lavinia\u2019s lines necessarily terminate; she becomes the visual representation of her assault but not much more. For example, Kahn observes that after Lavinia identifies her rapists, \u201cshe disappears for four scenes\u201d and returns \u201cnot only mute but veiled, assisting in the revenge that now belongs to her father\u201d (Kahn 48). Within a constellation of vocal male characters, Lavinia is a mute, violated, fetishized body. This absence of expression is not the case in Walsh\u2019s production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walsh takes up \u201cthe textual gap left by Lavinia\u2019s erasure\u201d after her assault in Shakespeare\u2019s playtext, by providing Lavinia\u2019s character with a number of physical sequences in which she expresses herself through movement (Aebischer 25). In this dance performance, Lavinia\u2019s character still has access to the vocabulary she commanded before her rape. Therefore, her continued physical communication through dance is unlike the total absence of speech that occurs in Shakespeare\u2019s playtext. In the play, \u201cmutilated Lavinia is available for interpretation not so much as a suffering subject of violence, but as an object\u201d (Aebischer 27\u201328). In Walsh\u2019s production, Lavinia effectively relearns the \u201cspeech\u201d of movement in order to convey her story; a contrast to the Shakespearean textual equivalent, in which others tell it for her: \u201cshall I speak for thee, shall I say \u2018tis so?\u201d (<em>Titus<\/em> 2.4.33). Lavinia executes choreography both before <em>and<\/em> after her supposed incapacitation; communicating in her \u201cnative tongue\u201d even after her tongue is expunged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Walsh\u2019s production, the second act reveals a string of six Lavinias behind the security partition, bound together by a swath of red cloth. Initially, Walsh\u2019s choreography depicts Lavinia\u2019s physical inadequacy; the dancers wriggle their shoulders with hands behind their backs to convey labored movement. Wobbly legs and bowed heads are a hallmark of this sequence, as the dancers struggle with their limited abilities. Soon, however, the choreography becomes more encompassing as the dancers maneuver a greater number of body parts, experimenting with the boundaries of their new range of motion. Walsh\u2019s use of multiple dancers in this scene performs several crucial thematic functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, the image of six women allegorizes Shakespeare\u2019s narrative of dismemberment and split selves: \u201cin Shakespeare\u2019s text, the handless bodies of Titus and Lavinia\u201d resist a \u201csymbolic discourse of wholeness\u201d (Imbracsio 298). Initially, the performers dance together in a caterpillar-like chain, moving their bodies in tandem. Soon they scatter, shifting to various parts of the stage while still connected by the red cloth. This tableau symbolizes Lavinia\u2019s severed limbs, strewn across the floor and linked only by blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, the multiple Lavinias have the potential to exemplify the feelings of disjointedness between former and present selves often experienced by rape victims. However, Walsh\u2019s choice to represent Lavinia\u2019s character through several dancers both literalizes and counters notions of fracture. Even as the presence of multiple bodies suggests a splintering selfhood, it also augments Lavinia\u2019s number of body parts during the very scene in which an audience expects them to be diminished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walsh\u2019s visual choice to place multiple dancers onstage, therefore, challenges Shakespeare\u2019s amputation of Lavinia by both taking away her hands <em>and<\/em> symbolically giving her more of them. Most importantly, Walsh\u2019s decision to make this a choral scene\u2014rather than a solo for Dawn Dippel, who dances the role of Lavinia throughout the production\u2014signals a larger social commentary on the effects of sexual assault, rather than a detailing of Lavinia\u2019s individual trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"195\" src=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-113\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image3.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image3-300x130.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption>Screenshot from&nbsp;<em>Vimeo<\/em>&nbsp;recording of&nbsp;<em>Titus Andronicus<\/em>. Direction and choreography by Dominic Walsh. Music by Two Star Symphony. Lighting Design by Robert Eubanks. Scenic and Costume Design: Fr\u00e9d\u00e9rique de Montblanc. Costume Construction: Jane Thayer. World Premiere: 16 October 2008. Dancer Dawn Dippel (Lavinia) with Choral Dancers (Luana Moscagiuli, Lauren Bettencourt, Lauren di Fede, Beth Everitt)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Walsh\u2019s subsequent discovery scene, in which Titus encounters a mutilated Lavinia, highlights Titus\u2019s inability to care properly for his daughter. Lavinia continually moves towards Titus in search of consolation, while he retreats in horror and discomfort. This duet parallels Shakespeare\u2019s playtext, in which Titus expresses his aversion to Lavinia\u2019s mangled form and what it signifies. He cries, \u201cAy me, this object kills me!\u201d (<em>Titus<\/em> 3.1.66) and \u201cForwhy my bowels cannot hide her woes\/ But like a drunkard must I vomit them\u201d (<em>Titus<\/em> 3.1.235\u20136). Titus cannot stomach Lavinia\u2019s marred body, and thus he neglects her in this moment. Walsh physicalizes this act of recoiling by contrasting Lavinia\u2019s purposeful, fluid movement with Titus\u2019 staccato, mechanical choreography. Titus jerkily articulates his hands, legs, elbows, thrusting as though to escape \u201cthis hollow prison of my flesh\u201d (<em>Titus <\/em>3.2.10). Father and daughter dance around one another, as he evades her gaze. In a following scene, however, when he realizes that she is trying to convey a message to him, Titus engages in a duet with Lavinia. She does not insert a stick in her mouth to reveal the identity of her attackers, as she does in Shakespeare\u2019s playtext. Instead, she plants a writing implement in the crook of her elbow and scrawls across the transparent security barrier in blood-red ink as her father pushes her on a metal gurney. This stylistic choice echoes Shakespeare\u2019s descriptions of Lavinia\u2019s non-verbal communication as choreography: she \u201clifts her arms in sequence\u201d (<em>Titus<\/em> 4.1.38), then Titus \u201cwrest(s) an alphabet\u201d from Lavinia\u2019s \u201cdumb action\u201d and proceeds to enact revenge (<em>Titus <\/em>3.2.40\u201344).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his corresponding act of revenge against the Goths, Walsh\u2019s Titus involves Lavinia as a co-conspirator. The father and daughter capture Chiron and Demetrius in a reversal of the assault scene: now, the brothers\u2019 naked bodies are paralyzed and on display as Lavinia and Titus dance around them. The production\u2019s costuming highlights this parallel: Titus accessorizes his white tennis outfit with a red racket that recalls the brothers\u2019 red-accented clothing, while Lavinia sports an all-black, martial ensemble that mirrors the black outfit worn by Tamora throughout the production. Lavinia\u2019s costume challenges Shakespeare\u2019s stage direction, in which Lavinia enters \u201cwith a veil over her face\u201d to signify her shame (<em>Titus<\/em> 5.3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As in the assault scene, Walsh facilitates an abrupt change in tone: pre-recorded Italian music replaces the orchestra again as father and daughter perform jaunty, balletic movements to taunt their captives. Walsh\u2019s choreography highlights the Titus-Lavinia collaboration as they exchange affirming glances. Stereotypical gender roles are reversed here as Lavinia operates the machinery (blender) while Titus prepares a baking sheet. After blending the innards of Chiron and Demetrius, Titus and Lavinia perform a triumphant \u201chigh-five\u201d motion with their forearms; a sign that affirms this deed as a collaborative one, rather than one engineered by Titus alone. As Tamora, Saturninus and Aaron gather around the dinner table to unwittingly consume the brothers, \u201cLollipop\u201d is reintroduced in a musical refrain: Lavinia\u2019s vengeance is served.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"229\" src=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-114\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image4.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/image4-300x153.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption>Screenshot from&nbsp;<em>Vimeo<\/em>&nbsp;recording of&nbsp;<em>Titus Andronicus<\/em>. Direction and choreography by Dominic Walsh. Music by Two Star Symphony. Lighting Design by Robert Eubanks. Scenic and Costume Design: Fr\u00e9d\u00e9rique de Montblanc. Costume Construction: Jane Thayer. World Premiere: 16 October 2008. Dancers Dawn Dippel (Lavinia), Domenico Luciano (Titus), Matt Dippel (Chiron), Joseph Walsh (Demetrius)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Yet, Walsh distinguishes Titus from Lavinia in <em>how<\/em> each character participates in this shared act of retribution. Throughout the sequence, Titus\u2019s movements are more explicitly mocking: his tilted head, frequent swipes with his tennis racket, stylized marches with hyper-exaggerated elbows pumping and patronizing ruffling of Chiron and Demetrius\u2019s hair, all suggest an exultant, derisive tone. Titus leans on Chiron and Demetrius\u2019s shoulders, using their captive bodies to support his arabesques, before coming to rest with hands on hips and one foot crossed before the other, as if parodying a pedestrian, cavalier posture. Moreover, Domenico Luciano (who dances the role of Titus) showcases his superb technique in this sequence (through elongated extensions, suspended balances, and graceful waltz turns), as if to imply that Titus\u2019s own virtuosity is most pronounced when mobilized in acts of violence. Based on Walsh\u2019s choreography, Titus seems to replicate the stylized violence of Chiron and Demetrius, through his intentional blending of elegant balletic movements with the crassness of violence and mockery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By contrast, Lavinia participates in this sequence with less style and more substance. She executes key functional aspects of the retribution, such as capturing the brothers\u2019 blood by balancing a bowl on her forearms and holding it beneath their necks. These contributions demonstrate Lavinia\u2019s increased facility of movement despite her amputated hands and tongue. Evidently, Lavinia has figured out how to maneuver her body to perform critical functions\u2014including this vindicating deed. Yet, in this sequence, Lavinia seemingly <em>chooses<\/em> to forgo Titus\u2019s nimble choreography for more understated, commanding movements. Lavinia does less but conveys more than her father: she marches slowly across the front of the stage in slow, purposeful strides, before coming to stand in front of each perpetrator in turn. She holds the gaze of each brother for a long moment, conveying her spite, revulsion and triumph through her eyes alone. In this scene, Walsh\u2019s Lavinia seems to exercise a tightly controlled fury; she is contained in her expression of due justice, whereas Titus appears to create a show out of his (altogether more self-conscious) choreography. Lavinia completes her revenge against the Goths, but she does not seem stylistically to revel in it as Titus does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a final departure from Shakespeare\u2019s playtext, Walsh ensures that Lavinia dies <em>after<\/em> she is officially revenged. In Shakespeare\u2019s text, Titus kills Lavinia <em>before <\/em>she witnesses the cannibalism, crying: \u201cDie, die, Lavinia, and thy shame with thee,\/ And with thy shame thy father\u2019s sorrow die\u201d (<em>Titus<\/em> 5.3.46\u201347). In this production, Lavinia dances in an ensemble sequence with the other dinner guests before backing into Titus\u2019 arms, taking an active role in her death. As the final curtain descends, a spotlight features Lavinia\u2019s prone body amongst the many corpses. Although the piece bears her father\u2019s name, Lavinia is the true protagonist of Walsh\u2019s production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walsh\u2019s <em>Titus<\/em> contributes to a contemporary understanding of Shakespeare\u2019s playtext by situating Lavinia\u2019s character and the aftermath of her assault as the focus of the production, rather than a mere pretext for Titus\u2019 final revenge. While in the playtext, \u201cShakespeare silences Lavinia,\u201d Walsh lends her greater scope and agency (Detmer-Goebel 88). Walsh affirms that because <em>Titus<\/em> is \u201cso intricate . . . and aggressive . . . discoveries can be made about how to explore this text through physicality\u201d (Lu). In interrogating Shakespeare\u2019s playtext, Walsh\u2019s adaptation enhances it, by unveiling newfound layers of <em>Titus<\/em>\u2019 textual meaning and thereby \u201cdanc(ing) out the answer\u201d (<em>Much Ado<\/em> 2.1.70).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bibliography<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Aebischer, Pascale. <em>Shakespeare\u2019s Violated Bodies: Stage and Screen Performance<\/em>. Cambridge UP, 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Detmer-Goebel, Emily. \u201cThe Need for Lavinia\u2019s Voice: <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em> and the Telling of Rape.\u201d <em>Shakespeare Studies<\/em>, vol. 29, 2001, pp. 75\u201392.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Dickson, Lisa. \u201c\u2019High\u2019 Art and \u2018Low\u2019 Blows: <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em> and the Critical Language of Pain.\u201d <em>Shakespeare Bulletin<\/em>, vol. 26, no.1, 2008, pp. 1\u201322.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Foley, Helene P., and Jean E. Howard. \u201cThe Urgency of Tragedy Now.\u201d <em>PLMA<\/em>, vol. 12, no. 4, 2014, p. 617<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Glentzer, Molly. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chron.com\/entertainment\/article\/Dance-troupe-sinks-teeth-into-Titus-Andronicus-1774140.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dance Troupe Sink Teeth into <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em><\/a>.\u201d <em>Houston Chronicle<\/em>,10 Oct. 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Halpern, Richard. \u201cCollateral Damage and Tragic Form.\u201d <em>Critical Inquiry<\/em>, vol. 45. no. 1, 2018, pp. 47\u201375.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Harris, Bernice. \u201cSexuality as a Signifier for Power Relations: Using Lavinia, of Shakespeare\u2019s <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em>.\u201d <em>Criticism: A Quarterly for Literature and the Arts<\/em>, vol. 38, no. 3, 1996, pp. 383\u2013406.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Hill, Constance Valis. <em>Tap Dancing America: A Cultural History<\/em>. Oxford UP, 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Imbracsio, Nicola M. \u201cStage Hands: Shakespeare\u2019s <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em> and the Agency of the Disabled Body in Text and Performance.\u201d <em>Journal of Literary &amp; Cultural Disability Studies<\/em>, vol. 6, no. 3, 2012, pp. 291\u2013306.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Kahn, Copp\u00e9lia. \u201cThe Daughter\u2019s Seduction in Titus Andronicus, or, Writing is the Best Revenge.\u201d <em>Roman Shakespeare: Warriors, Wounds and Women<\/em>, by Copp\u00e9lia, Routledge, 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Knowles, Mark. <em>The Wicked Waltz and Other Scandalous Dances: Outrage at Couple Dancing in the 19<sup>th<\/sup> and Early 20<sup>th<\/sup> Centuries<\/em>. McFarland, 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Lamb, Caroline. \u201cPhysical Trauma and (Adapt)ability in <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em>.\u201d <em>Critical Survey<\/em>, vol. 22, no. 1, 2010, pp. 41\u201357.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Lu, Catherine. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.houstonpublicmedia.org\/articles\/arts-culture\/2008\/10\/20\/12413\/the-front-row-tuesday-10142008\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Interview with Dominic Walsh<\/a>. <em>The Front Row<\/em>, 20 Oct. 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Macaulay, Alastair. \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.houstonpublicmedia.org\/articles\/arts-culture\/2008\/10\/20\/12413\/the-front-row-tuesday-10142008\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">To Dance, Perchance to Dream<\/a>.\u201d <em>The New York Times<\/em>, 28Mar. 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Nevitt, Lucy. <em>Theatre and Violence<\/em>. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Packard, Bethany. \u201cLavinia as Coauthor of Shakespeare\u2019s <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em>.\u201d <em>Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900<\/em>, vol. 50 no. 2, 2010, pp. 281\u2013300.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Ray, Sid. \u201c\u2018Rape, I Fear, Was Root of Thy Annoy\u2019: The Politics of Consent in <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em>.\u201d <em>Shakespeare Quarterly<\/em>, vol. 49, no. 1, 1998, pp. 22\u201339.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Shakespeare, William. <em>Much Ado About Nothing<\/em>. <em>The Norton Anthology<\/em>, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, and Katherine Eisaman Maus, W.W Norton, 2016, p. 523.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">&#8212;. <em>Titus Andronicus.<\/em> <em>The Norton Anthology<\/em>, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, and Katherine Eisaman Maus, W.W Norton, 2016, p. 115.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Smith, William Michael. \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.houstonpress.com\/music\/aftermath-dominic-walsh-dance-theaters-titus-andronicus-with-two-star-symphony-at-hobby-centers-zilkha-theater-6530964\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Aftermath: Dominic Walsh Dance Theater\u2019s <em>Titus Andronicus, <\/em>with Two Star Symphony, at Hobby Center\u2019s Zilkha Theater<\/a>.\u201d <em>Houston Press<\/em>, 17 Oct. 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Walsh, Dominic, director and choreographer. <em>Titus Andronicus<\/em>. <em>DWDT<\/em>. Hobby Center, October 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"hangingIndent\">Whiting, Richard A., composer, and Sidney Clare, lyricist. \u201cOn the Good Ship Lollipop.\u201d <em>Bright Eyes<\/em>, Fox Film Corporation, 1934.<a name=\"end\">&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-thumbnail alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/03\/Ilana-Gilovich-Wave-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-106\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a name=\"end\" href=\"#back\">*<\/a><strong>Ilana Gilovich-Wave<\/strong> is a PhD Candidate in Theatre at Columbia University and (until the COVID-19 shutdown) a performer in Punchdrunk\u2019s off-Broadway <em>Macbeth<\/em> adaptation, <em>Sleep No More<\/em>. She earned her BA in English at Cornell University and her MA in Literary Studies at Queen\u2019s University Belfast. Ilana has volunteered with the Cornell Prison Education Program to teach Shakespeare Studies and Nineteenth Century World Literature at Auburn Maximum Security Prison. She has worked on Shakespeare education programs with Epic Theatre Ensemble and the Belfast Ulster Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">Copyright <strong>\u00a9<\/strong> 2022 Ilana Gilovich-Wave<br><em>Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em> e-ISSN:2409-7411<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/88x31.png\" alt=\"Creative Commons Attribution International License\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">This work is licensed under the<br>Creative Commons Attribution International License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":598,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essays"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/04\/featured2-2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":599,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104\/revisions\/599"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}