***  For many years, one of my favorite “storefront” theatres was Redtwist on Bryn Mawr. The mission was to “create searing red hot drama in a tiny black box with a little red twist” and they were very successful in accomplishing this, winning Jeff nominations and awards galore. I realize that time goes on and that artistic directors change, so what was was and change was inevitable. This intimate space ( I counted 36 seats) has changed the look as well as the management and they now have a concession stand and a lobby area.

Tonight I was there for my first show under the new staff and was surprised that they selected a Shakespeare play, albeit, not one that is done very often. This is “hands down” the bloodiest of Shakespeare’s works. note: those of you who know the play will get that little “hands” joke. This is a play about prejudice, revenge, politics, wars, family and almost everything that we find topical today, some hundreds of years later. Most of what is happening involves the country being torn apart by two factions who cannot agree on anything.

If the above sounds slightly familiar, I believe that might be the reason that  it was adapted and somewhat modernized by Dusty Brown, Jordan Gleaves and Caroline Kidwell. The production is staged by Dusty Brown and understanding the intimacy of the venue itself, audience members will find themselves very immersed into the play and I suggest they ask the box office for a plastic poncho as when “it rains/bleeds. it pours”.

The theater has two ways of entering and exiting for the actors and in the center a huge table that opens and closes and serves as several items. There are lots of knives and swords (Leo Bassow handles the props), and more than enough blood. KClaire McKellaston’s costumes are fitting , but not elaborate enough to show royalty. When hands are removed and they have stubs, it looks kind of tacky and I felt like one of the leads, Caroline Kidwell as Lavinia, had to work extra hard when she became “handless”.  By the way, as we entered the theater, this young lady was playing the guitar and singing some lovely melodies to get us into a somber and relaxed mood.

This is definitely an ensemble piece as each actor must rely on the others to make the script meaningful. The cast is composed of: James Lewis, Elijah Newman, Quinn Leary, Madelyn Loehr, Philip C. Mathhews, Sabine Wan, Joshua Servantez, Laura Sturm and Anne Sheridan Smith as Titus. These actors have quite a workout as they go back and forth, jump up on the table, get into fights, kill people, cut people, carry them off the set and spend 2 plus hours (there is one 15 minute intermission) running and working as well as playing their roles.

As I previously said, this is not one of the bards famous plays, but if you are up for adventure and a lot of bloodshed, you may find yourself truly loving every moment. FYI On March 13th and 23rd, Redtwist’s “understudies” will take on the roles and bring their physicality to the show.

Titus Andronicus” will continue Thru – Mar 30th with performances as follows: