Review: TITUS/MEATLOAF at Baltimore Theatre Project

Motte & Bailey Production presents Titus/ Meatloaf adapted and directed by Hannah Fogler. The fourth and final installment of their Shakespeare/Music series. The combo of one of Shakespeare's bloodiest play and the album Bat out of Hell come together in one of the most insane nights I've ever had in a theater, and I loved every crazy second of it! The bloody splash zone involves the audience on a new level, even giving them a blood soaked souvenir to take home. The live painting raffle during the show was an impressive spectacle that added yet another interesting layer to the madness. The music woven throughout the text of the show worked so incredibly well. I am in awe of the creative talent it takes to put these two pieces of work together and make it work so well. 

I feel like this show is made for a certain group of people and I am one of them! It gave me Rocky Horror meets the Ren fest vibes, I say that in the most respectful way. It was campy and fun, bloody and violent, insane and genius. Honestly, I was intrigued when I first heard about the show. I thought this is either going to be awesome and work well or it's going to be a disaster. I am glad to report it was the former. 

The show is not recommended for children under 15, as it depicts extreme violence, human sacrifice, off-stage sexual assault, continuous references to sexual assault, body mutilation (on and off stage), torture, murder, cannibalism, sexuality, references to kink and fetish culture. 

I loved that the splash zone was included in the playing area, even having audience members hold onto props until they were needed later in the show. The only things I did not enjoy was the stage set up was a bit distracting because you had actors coming in and out of the "wings" during the scenes. There were also some sound issues but the actors tried their best to work around them. The mix of music could sometimes overpower the speaking players and it was hard to hear what they were saying at times. 

You could feel the fun the actors were having with the show. It's always amazing to see a production and just feel the love the people have for the art. Support local theatre by coming out to see this show. The show runs about two and a half hours with a 15 minute intermission. 

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