Tiit MITEM 16

Sergey Potapov, the stage manager of the Sakha Theatre and a Yakut artist who is increasingly well-known on the international scene, has blended the distinctive traditions of the Yakut theatre with the characteristic features of the “bloody tragedies” of William Shakespeare in this production of Titus Andronicus, out of which he has created a captivating spectacle that is reminiscent of ancient rituals. The motifs of Shakespeare’s mature dramas (Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, etc.) are brought to life with the vivid expressiveness of the film world of Quentin Tarantino.

Titus Andronicus is thought of as one of Shakespeare’s earliest dramas and one of the most stirring of the so-called “bloody tragedies.” The audience bears witness, through the spectacle of horrific, brutal events, to the personal and, at the same time, universal tragedy of the protagonist. Titus Andronicus, a Roman general, suffers defeat in the course of the drama, but a defeat so utter that it can hardly be grasped with a sober mind. Thus, the audience is confronted with the irrational dimensions of human existence and human death.