Titus dines with his brother Marcus, his mutilated daughter Lavinia, and his grandson “Young Lucius”, urging them to eat only enough to fuel their desire for revenge. When Marcus kills a fly buzzing at the table with a knife, Titus angrily calls Marcus a murderer, claiming the fly was a harmless guest. Marcus explains he killed it because it was black (like the Moor, Aaron), and Titus joins in and strikes the fly twice–once for Aaron and once for Tamora. Marcus worries about Titus’s sanity as Titus takes Lavinia and Young Lucius away to read sad stories. Later, Young Lucius runs into the garden terrified as Lavinia chases him with his schoolbooks. Marcus and Titus calm the boy down as Lavinia uses her stumps to flip through Young Lucius’s copy of Ovid’s Metamorphoses to the story of Philomel–who was raped and had her tongue cut out–to signal her own fate, then drags a staff in the sand to write the names Chiron and Demetrius. Titus, Marcus, and Young Lucius swear to hunt down and kill Tamora’s sons. Titus instructs Young Lucius to take a load of weapons as “gifts” to Chiron and Demetrius. When Young Lucius delivers the weapons, Aaron realizes that Titus and his family now know the truth about the rape. Meanwhile, a nurse arrives carrying Tamora’s newborn baby. Because the baby is dark-skinned (Aaron’s child), Tamora has secretly ordered the nurse to kill it so Emperor Saturninus will not discover their affair. Aaron silences Chiron and Demetrius (who suggest killing their half-brother) and stabs the nurse to death after learning she spoke to a midwife.
CREDITS:
The PLAY ON PODCAST SERIES, “TITUS ANDRONICUS”, was written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE and translated into modern English verse by AMY FREED. All episodes were directed by DANNY SCHEIE. Radio play by CATHERINE EATON.
Executive Producer: MICHAEL GOODFRIEND
This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA AGREEMENT.
The cast is as follows:
JAMES CARPTENER as TITUS ANDRONICUS
PATRICK KERR as MARCUS ANDRONICUS
CAROLYN (“CARRIE”) KOZLOWSKI as TAMORA
JORDAN BARBOUR as BASSIANUS, AEMEILIUS and QUINTUS
DANNY SCHEIE as SATURNINUS
BRUCE YOUNG as AARON THE MOOR
MARK H. DOLD as LUCIUS and YOUNG LUCIUS
JAMIE ANN ROMERO as LAVINIA and THE NURSE
JOMAR TAGATAC as DEMETRIUS, MUTIUS and OTHERS
DEAN LINNARD as CHIRON, MARTIUS and OTHERS
MICHAEL GOODFRIEND as PUBLIUS, ARBUS and OTHERS
Casting by THE TELSEY OFFICE: KARYN CASL, CSA.
Original Music Composition, Mix and Sound Design by LINDSAY JONES. Sound engineering and mixing by SADAHARU YAGI. Mix Engineer and Dialogue Editor: LARRY WALSH. Podcast Mastering by GREG CORTEZ at New Monkey Studio. Coordinating Producer: TRANSCEND STREAMING (KYRA BOWIE and LEANNA KEYES).
The Play On Podcast Series “TITUS ANDRONICUS” is produced by NEXT CHAPTER PODCASTS and is made possible by the generous support of THE HITZ FOUNDATION. Visit NEXTCHAPTERPODCASTS.COM for more about the Play On Podcast Series. Visit PLAYONSHAKESPEARE.ORG for more about Play On Shakespeare.
Subscribe to Play On Premium for ad-free episodes and join our Patreon for exclusive merchandise and early commercial-free releases. Go to nextchapterpodcasts.com for our Bonus Content, where you’ll find interviews with the artists, producers and engineers who brought it all to life. And remember: “Revenge is a dish best served cold”.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
