Lavinia In Souliloquy.

Lavinia In Souliloquy from In Souliloquy on Vimeo.

Lavinia In Souliloquy.

By Tilly Lunken

Directed by Victorine Pontillon

Performed by Joanna May

Puppet Design, concept and Build: Joanna May

After William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus.

Lavinia In Souliloquy is part of Cycle 1 of In Souliloquy.

Photo by Jennifer Hook.

 Titus Andronicus is a violent, bloody play where many people are mutilated and murdered. Lavinia is raped and then has her tongue cut out and her hands cut off so she cannot tell her father Titus of her assault. She eventually communicates it to him and in revenge he murders her attackers before killing his daughter out of shame.

Our Lavinia’s soul speaks to us directly – this voice cuts through the silence and her pain and shouts out at the injustice of her life and death. The use of puppetry in filming this souliloquy was important to give layers to how our Lavinia with no mouth or hands shares her story. 

There is an important question for all puppetry work - why a puppet? I don't think you could have a live person acting this work. Listening to it yes, a voice disembodied but an actual actor you see I think would detract from both the violence inflicted on the character and what she was reduced to. This little puppet shows us the depths of meaning of Lavinia's words. So, listen.

In Souliloquy is co-devised and produced by Tilly Lunken and Victorine Pontillon.

@insouliloquy