"We give you a bloodbath" Bloodless Violence in Jude Christian's Titus Andronicus

Abstract

In the Sam Wanamaker performance of Titus Andronicus in 2023, directed by Jude Christian, a curious taming of the material occurs. From its position as the notoriously grisly Shakespearean tragedy, Christian alters it into a cabaret-style show that reduces one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest plays to a bloodless affair, using wax candles carried by each character as a substitute for the body. These candles are meant to withstand the violent acts of Titus Andronicus—being snapped, cut in half, chopped, and finally literally snuffed out even as the characters’ lives are snuffed out metaphorically. As the Sam Wanamaker Theatre is a candlelit theatre, these candles serve both as lighting and bodily metaphor, removing the bloodshed from this bloody play.