A review by kygpub
Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

this play is fucking exhausting. somehow, that is a good thing.

okay. to be frank, a lot of things about this suck. misogyny and racism run rampant. characters get put on stage without logic or justification (
what were lavinia and bassanius  even doing there?
). all but 3 of them have something utterly hateable about them. but i can't bring myself to hate the play itself. it's too interesting of a historical case study, too crafty in its machinations, too utterly outrageous in the lengths it is willing to go to elicit the reaction it desires. it's probably blasphemy to prefer this to the greats of tragedy, but i've never been a fan of supernatural horror and this fell right in my niche: overt classical references, revenges that actually come to fruition, and buckets upon buckets of blood. borders on too nasty for its own good (for other people i'm sure it crosses that line entirely); for me, it pulls enough punches to make it bearable—if, as i said, exhausting.
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