Shakespeare's TITUS ANDRONICUS Begins Tonight at Burbage Theatre

After their sold-out run of 'Happy Birthday, Wanda June', Burbage Theatre Company presents the Rhode Island Theatrical Premiere of 'Titus Andronicus' the first tragedy written by William Shakespeare, directed by Jeff Church, which opens previews tonight, February 18, as the second and final play in the Burbage Theatre Company'swinter series, This Winter's War.

Titus Androcnius runs February 18 - March 18 at Aurora Providence, 276 Westminster Street, Providence RI. Tickets are $10-$20. Visit www.burbagetheatre.org or contactboxoffice@burbagetheatre.org for reservations and more info.

ABOUT THE PLAY:

TITUS ANDRONICUS (Feb 18 - Mar 18)
by William Shakespeare
directed by Jeff Church

Titus Andronicus returns to Rome after years at war and is expected to become emperor.She refuses the throne, but in doing so sets into motion a gruesome chain of events. Tamora, queen of his defeated enemies, marries the new emperor. She and her sons vow revenge against Titus and carry out a campaign of gore and cruelty which decimates the Andronicus family. Devastated and dishonored, Titus enacts her own sinister vengeance against the royal family in what is perhaps Shakespeare's most violent play.

"Be warned," says Artistic Director Jeff Church, "Titus Andronicus not a play for the faint of heart. Steeped in the Senecan tradition that permeated the Elizabethan stage, Titus famously depicts the violence that revenge begets. But this play is so much deeper than it's body count. Titus is about the commonplace cruelty, pain, and prejudice that we exhibit and experience when living in a perpetual state of war. It is about the blurred line between justice and revenge, and the kind of manic mirth that stems from the latter. It is about the effects of violence on the mind and our human capacity to endure the inexplicable; atrocities against the state, against family, against women, against those of different cultures and different beliefs. It is also about humor's ability to diffuse even the most dire of circumstances.

"These are not outdated themes. Quite the contrary. In a time where nine out of ten Americans believe that War will never end, in a time where we have been desensitized to the barbarism in our modern world, we at Burbage want to put you in the room with it. Our challenge to you: We want you to see the effects of the violence you benignly hear about through your television screens, and experience a world that you might otherwise casually dismiss."

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION:

Ensemble -
Rae Mancini, Titus Andronicus
Roger Lemelin, Marcus
Aaron Morris, Lucius
Allison Crews, Lavinia
Dillon Medina, Bassianus
Rico Lanni, Saturninus
Christin Goff, Tamora
Andrew Iacovelli, Demetrius
James Lucey, Chiron
Jason Quinn, Aaron
David d'Andrea, Quintus
Molly Greene, Martius
Chris Pelletier, Mutius

Liz Hallenbeck, Nurse
Bridget Anderson, Chorus
Julia Bartoletti, Chorus
Beatriz Lopez, Chorus
Shannon Hartman, Chorus
Rachael Perry, Chorus

Creative Team-
Jeff Church, director
Molly Greene, assistant director
Andrew Iacovelli, technical director
Trevor Elliot, scenic design, properties designer
Sharon Carpentier, costume design

Founded in 2010, Burbage is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to excite and engage a new generation of theatre-goer with socially relevant and compelling stories, both classic and contemporary, told by an inventive and expert ensemble of actors.

We believe that acting comes first. We believe the theatre's continued relevance as a civil institution is best perpetuated by building productions and their aesthetic around the collaboration of an expert ensemble of storytellers. We believe it is the actor's job to activate thought and inner movement in his audience.

In collaboration with Aurora, Burbage's theatrical residence in downtown Providence, Burbage is dedicated to the growing and cultivating of the diverse artistic community in Rhode Island by providing affordable access to the performing arts and perpetuating a discourse about, not only content, but the actor's role as storyteller in today's world. Burbage is an ideal sustainable arts model for the 21st Century.

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