Titus Andronicus and Othello are both plays that have, for parts of their history, been considered difficult or impossible to perform: ‘unspeakable’ in the literal sense. In both plays, silence is a weapon, used in various ways against various characters including (but not limited to) the two central female characters, Desdemona and Lavinia. Their silences – both of plot and of performance history – invite us to confront the ethical problems tragedy raises. What can be shown on stage? What must be censored, and why? Are we guided by squeamishness, or prejudice, aesthetic considerations or practical dictates?
We will examine several examples of the performance history of these plays, focusing in detail on the staging of violence and of race. In particular, we will examine Ira Aldridge’s performances of Othello (and other Shakespearean heroes) in the early nineteenth century, Gregory Doran and Antony Sher’s production of Titus in Johannesburg in 1995, and recent twentieth and twenty-first century productions of Titus in the UK. This examination will raise several related questions. How do we depict violence onstage – what are the practical, ethical, or aesthetic difficulties? How do we negotiate silences within a theatre performance, and what kind of contract with the audience is maintained? Are responses to Shakespearean violence and silence ever separable from contemporary controversies, morals and fears? To answer these questions, we will look not only to academics of Shakespearean performance, but also to practitioners (actors, directors, costume designers, prop designers), and to audiences.
