Shakespeare, Romans, gruesome violence—what more could you ask for? Starting today, “Titus Andronicus” will be performed at the Loeb Experimental Theatre from Dec. 7-15. The Roving Reporter waded through blood, guts, and amputated limbs to get the inside story on the production.

Jack E. Fishburn ’08

RR: Who do you play in “Titus Andronicus”?

JF: I play Titus.

RR: Great. What’s his story?

JF: He is a Roman general who is reaching retirement, having successfully led Rome’s armies for forty years. He’s lost all his sons, pretty much. He comes back to Rome and finds that people want him to take up the emperorship, but he refuses. It’s kind of like “King Lear” in that he refuses and then everything goes bad from there.

RR: Have you ever made a decision where you felt like it was the cause of everything bad that happened after it?

JF: In my life? No. Um, coming to America. No, not really.

RR: So Titus is a pretty tough guy?

JF: He’s mentally tough, and psychologically, physically. At the start of the play, when things start to go wrong, he kills one of his own sons, without so much as a whimper.

RR: Who would win in a fight: Titus or Russell Crowe in “Gladiator”?

JF: I think probably Titus. I mean, he’s old now, but definitely in his prime he’d destroy Russell Crowe.

Jason R. Vartikar-McCullough ’11

RR: So who do you play in “Titus Andronicus”?

JVM: I play Demetrius, who is the son of Tamora, Queen of the Goths.

RR: What’s his role in the story?

JVM: I have a brother named Chiron, and the two of us go and essentially rape Lavinia. We cut off her arms and we cut out her tongue. We are essentially the antagonists of the play.

RR: Are there any evil villains who inspire you for this role?

JVM: Not really.

RR: What’s the most gruesome scene in the play?

JVM: I guess the most gruesome scene will be actual the rape of Lavinia. I guess I’m not supposed to say what actually happens and how the director’s chosen to stylize it, but it should be really graphic.

RR: So is this an R-rated performance?

JVM: Yes, this is R-rated, if not...Well this performance is not X-rated. But, I mean, I imagine that “Titus” could be X-rated. It’s really, really graphic, but in a sort of symbolic way.

RR: Is “Titus” your favorite Shakespearean play?

JVM: It’s up there. Definitely top five, top three maybe.

Cecilia I. Soler ’08

RR: Who do you play in “Titus”?

CS: I play Tamora, she’s the Queen of the Goths—kind of a baddie.

RR: Are there any evil villains in other plays or movies who inspire you for your role?

CS: I kind of think, a little bit, of Cleopatra, in the sense of how she’s very conniving. She uses sex to get what she wants from men. She’s very brutal.

RR: Have you found yourself, as you practice the role, becoming meaner?

CS: Yes, actually. I go home to my roommates and they find that I’m very strange and very aggressive.

RR: There’s a lot of death in this play. What’s your favorite tragic death from another play or movie?

CS: I don’t really watch bloody movies. I watch thrillers, but not horror movies or anything like that.

RR: What’s your favorite movie?

CS: I like “The Shawshank Redemption,” “American Beauty.” Let’s see, what movie have I seen the most? “Dirty Dancing,” which is embarrassing.

RR: Wow, that is a tragedy.

CS: Haha, yes, it is in itself.

Nicholas J. Melvoin ’08

RR: Who do you play in “Titus”?

NM: I play Young Lucius, also known as Boy.

RR: Boy? That’s a very inventive name.

NM: Yes, it is. That’s Shakespeare for you.

RR: What’s his role in the story?

NM: He’s the son of Lucius and the grandson of Titus. He kind of bookends the play. He never has too much action, but he kind of watches and he’s one of the only characters who is still alive at the end.

RR: Is there a Girl character to compliment your Boy?

NM: No, there’s not a Girl character. It’s a pretty male-heavy cast. But I do have a great scene where my aunt chases me around without any arms or tongue.

RR: Interesting. Isn’t it kind of hard for her to run with no arms?

NM: She does a pretty good job, just kind of going with her stumps. It’s a funny scene, but before a serious revelation.

RR: Are there any plays or movies that inspire you for this Roman epic?

NM: I think that the little boy in “Gladiator” who survives and outlives everyone is kind of how I like to think of myself.

RR: Anything else you want to say about the play?

NM: It’s been a lot of fun. It’s my first theatrical experience at Harvard and it’s a great group of people.

RR: How does it compare to your theatrical experience elsewhere?

NM: It’s fun. It’s more fun than I thought. I mean, it’s such an uptight place, Harvard in general. I’ve found, as someone who’s kind of dabbled in a lot of things like athletics and whatever, it’s more time-consuming than anything else. People sometimes think theater is a wash, but we’re here all the time. Sometimes we’re doing nothing, but we’re here.