I + D
Savouring history, languages and characters
06/05/2010
You arrive at the theatre and look for a place among the crowd. You finally manage to sit at a table. On your plate lie the crunchy tattooed remains of a Roman warrior from the time of Emperor Tito – conveniently murdered and cooked up for the occasion.
For years, Mugaritz and La Fura dels Baus have shared the perverse pleasure of defying definition. La Fura dels Baus is not just a theatre company and Mugaritz is not just a restaurant. In 2009 our team couldn’t resist La Fura’s invitation to put together this cannibalistic banquet inspired in William Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy, Titus Andronicus.
Nothing in A Taste of Titus Andronicus felt like a play. There was no separation between stage and gallery, performers and audience shared the same space, moving around freely in a frenzy of sights, smells and sounds. While projections flashed across giant screens, Mugaritz cooked up the cannibal feast overhead. Roman Law professor Rosa Mentxaka supervised our quest to recreate garum – a sauce made by fermenting fish in the sun, thought to be an aphrodisiac – and other concoctions from the Imperial recipe book.
A Taste of Titus Andronicus was Mugaritz’s first foray into theatre, although we’d flirted with the performing arts earlier, literally distilling the actors’ essence in Bicho eres un bicho. The project also marked the beginning of a long and fruitful friendship with La Fura dels Baus. Following the spring premiere in 2010, Titus Andronicus was performed on stages in Spain, Italy, Argentina and other countries.
