Editing Titus Andronicus (section)

===Television===
In 1970, Finnish TV channel [[Yle TV1]] screened an adaptation of the play written and directed by [[Jukka Sipilä]], starring Leo Lastumäki as Titus, Iris-Lilja Lassila as Tamora, Eugene Holman as Aaron and Maija Leino as Lavinia.<ref>José Ramón Díaz Fernández, "The Roman Plays on Screen: An Annotated Filmo-Bibliography", in Sarah Hatchuel and Nathalie Vienne-Guerrin (eds.) ''Shakespeare on Screen: The Roman Plays'' (Rouen: Université de Rouen, 2008), 338</ref>

In 1985, the BBC produced [[BBC Television Shakespeare#Titus Andronicus|a version]] of the play for their ''[[BBC Television Shakespeare]]'' series. Directed by [[Jane Howell]], the play was the thirty-seventh and final episode of the series and starred [[Trevor Peacock]] as Titus, [[Eileen Atkins]] as Tamora, Hugh Quarshie as Aaron and [[Anna Calder-Marshall]] as Lavinia. Because ''Titus'' was broadcast several months after the rest of the seventh season, it was rumoured that the BBC were worried about the violence in the play and that disagreements had arisen about censorship. This was inaccurate however, as the delay was actually caused by a BBC strike in 1984. The episode had been booked into the studio in February and March 1984, but the strike meant it could not shoot. When the strike ended, the studio could not be used as it was being used by another production, and then when the studio became available, the RSC was using Trevor Peacock, and filming did not take place until February 1985, a year later than planned.<ref>Susan Willis, ''The BBC Shakespeare: Making the Televised Canon'' (North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1991), 30</ref> Initially, director Jane Howell wanted to set the play in present-day [[Northern Ireland]], but she ultimately settled on a more conventional approach. All the body parts seen throughout were based upon real autopsy photographs, and were authenticated by the [[Royal College of Surgeons]]. The costumes of the Goths were based on punk outfits, with Chiron and Demetrius specifically based on the band [[Kiss (band)|KISS]]. For the scene when Chiron and Demetrius are killed, a large carcass is seen hanging nearby; this was a genuine lamb carcass purchased from a [[Kashrut|kosher]] butcher and smeared with Vaseline to make it gleam under the studio lighting.<ref>For much factual information on this production, see Mary Z. Maher, "Production Design in the BBC's ''Titus Andronicus''", in J. C. Bulman and H. R. Coursen (eds.), ''Shakespeare on Television: An Anthology of Essays and Reviews'' (New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 1988), 144–150</ref> In an unusual design choice, Howell had the Roman populace all wear identical generic masks without mouths, so as to convey the idea that the Roman people were faceless and voiceless, as she felt the play depicted a society which "seemed like a society where everyone was faceless except for those in power".<ref>Quoted in Barnet (2005: 159)</ref> The production was one of the most lauded plays of the series and garnered almost universally positive reviews.<ref>For more information on this production, see Dessen (1989: 44–48). For a detailed overview of the production process itself, see Susan Willis, ''The BBC Shakespeare: Making the Televised Canon'' (North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1991), 292–314</ref>

[[File:Titus Andronicus final scene on BBC Television Shakespeare.jpg|left|thumb|Young Lucius stares at the body of Aaron's baby in Jane Howell's adaptation for the ''BBC Television Shakespeare''; in the background, his father is being inaugurated as the new emperor]]
For the most part, the adaptation followed Q1 exactly (and F1 for 3.2) with some minor alterations. For example, a few lines were cut from various scenes, such as Lavinia's "Ay, for these slips have made him noted long" (2.3.87), thus removing the continuity error regarding the duration of the Goths' residence in Rome. Other examples include Titus' "Ah, wherefore dost thou urge the name of hands,/To bid Aeneas tell the tale twice o'er,/How [[Troy]] was burnt and he made miserable?" (3.2.26–28), Marcus' "What, what! The lustful sons of Tamora/Performers of this heinous, bloody deed" (4.1.78–79), and Titus and Marcus' brief conversation about [[Taurus (constellation)|Taurus]] and [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]] (4.3.68–75). The adaptation also includes some lines from Q1 which were removed in subsequent editions; at 1.1.35 Titus' "bearing his valiant sons/in coffins from the field" continues with "and at this day,/To the Monument of that Andronicy/Done sacrifice of expiation,/And slaine the Noblest prisoner of the Gothes." These lines are usually omitted because they create a continuity problem regarding the sacrifice of Alarbus, which has not happened yet in the text. However, Howell got around this problem by beginning the play at 1.1.64 – the entrance of Titus. Then, at 1.1.168, after the sacrifice of Alarbus, lines 1.1.1 to 1.1.63 (the introductions of Bassianus and Saturninus) take place, thus Titus' reference to Alarbus' sacrifice makes chronological sense.

Another notable stylistic technique used in the adaptation is multiple addresses direct to camera. For example, Saturninus' "How well the tribune speaks to calm my thoughts" (1.1.46); Tamora's vow to slaughter the Andronici at 1.1.450–455 (thus absolving Saturninus from any involvement); Aaron's soliloquy in 2.1; Aaron's "Ay, and as good as Saturninus may" (2.1.91); Aaron's soliloquy in 2.3; Tamora's "Now will I hence to seek my lovely Moor,/And let my spleenful sons this trull deflower" (2.3.190–191); Aaron's two [[aside]]s in 3.1 (ll.187–190 and 201–202); Lucius' "Now will I to the Goths and raise a power,/To be revenged on Rome and Saturnine" (3.1.298–299); Marcus' "O, heavens, can you hear a good man groan" speech (4.1.122–129); Young Lucius' asides in 4.2 (ll.6 and 8–9); Aaron's "Now to the Goths, as swift as swallow flies,/There to dispose this treasure in mine arms,/And secretly to greet the Empress' friends" (4.2.172–174); and Tamora's "Now will I to that old Andronicus,/And temper him with all the art I have,/To pluck proud Lucius from the warlike Goths" (4.4.107–109).

The most significant difference from the original play concerned the character of Young Lucius, who is a much more important figure in the adaptation; he is present throughout Act 1, and retrieves the murder weapon after the death of Mutius; it is his knife which Titus uses to kill the fly; he aids in the capture of Chiron and Demetrius; he is present throughout the final scene. Much as Julie Taymor would do in her 1999 filmic adaptation, Howell set Young Lucius as the centre of the production to prompt the question "What are we doing to the children?"<ref>Quoted in Dessen (1989: 44)</ref> At the end of the play, as Lucius delivers his final speech, the camera stays on Young Lucius rather than his father, who is in the far background and out of focus, as he stares in horror at the coffin of Aaron's child (which has been killed off-screen). Thus the production became "in part about a boy's reaction to murder and mutilation. We see him losing his innocence and being drawn into this adventure of revenge; yet, at the end we perceive that he retains the capacity for compassion and sympathy."<ref>Mary Maher, "Production Design in the BBC's ''Titus Andronicus''", in J. C. Bulman and H. R. Coursen (eds.), ''Shakespeare on Television: An Anthology of Essays and Reviews'' (Hanover: University Press of New England, 1988), 146</ref>

In 2001, the animated sitcom ''[[South Park]]'' based an episode on the play. In "[[Scott Tenorman Must Die]]", [[Eric Cartman]] is swindled by Scott Tenorman. Cartman tries various methods to get his money back, but Scott remains always one step ahead. He then decides to exact revenge on Scott. After numerous failed attempts, he hatches a plan which culminates in him having Scott's parents killed, the bodies of whom he then cooks in chili, which he feeds to Scott. He then gleefully reveals his deception as Scott finds his mother's finger in the chilli.<ref>Anne Gossage, {{"'}}Yon Fart Doth Smell of Elderberries Sweet': ''South Park'' and Shakespeare", in Leslie Stratyner and James R. Keller (eds.), ''The Deep End of South Park: Critical Essays on TV's Shocking Cartoon Series'' (North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009), 50–52</ref>

The Netflix TV series ''[[Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt]]'' features a character originally named Ronald Wilkerson that changed his name to Titus Andromedon, possibly derived from this play.