Anatomy Titus Fall Of RomeA Shakespeare commentary
by Heiner Müller
Translated by Julian Hammond
Directed by Michael Gow with John Bell
I am the knife which will slaughter heaven.
Heaven is full of blood. Soon it will snow.
In a powerful new co-production by Bell Shakespeare and Queensland Theatre Company, Michael Gow directs John Bell in the title role of Anatomy Titus Fall Of Rome: A Shakespeare Commentary, a reworking of Shakespeare’s bloodiest play Titus Andronicus, by German playwright and director Heiner Müller.
Set in Rome in the aftermath of war between the Romans and the Goths, Titus Andronicus, an honourable war general, returns home victorious only to find himself caught in a sordid web of unrest and upheaval, on both political and personal fronts. As Titus moves from triumph to tragedy through the shattering consequences of revenge, the message of the futility of war is resounding.
Heiner Müller was one of Germany’s greatest contemporary playwrights and the spiritual and creative heir to Bertold Brecht. Initially a star of the East German arts establishment he later fell from grace and his work was censored by the state, leading him to rework classic texts in order to explore current themes. He has written here a searingly provocative examination of the nature of violence, a sharply political work that speaks as much of our world today as of Ancient Rome. This is the Australian premiere of a rarely performed play which will resonate profoundly with a 21st Century audience.
