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ln 1592, just after Richard 111, Shakespeare wrote Titus Andronicus ; a succession of acts of senseless violence, a mad machine of hate, revenge and a perverted enjoyment of power. In 1984 the German author Heiner Müller adapted this piece into Anatomie Titus FALL OF ROME Ein Shakespearekommentar and adds a little extra of his own: he subjects Shakespeare's play to an anatomical' examination, in the hope not only to analyse the experience of random violence, but also to gain a better understanding of it. Drama must, after all, show more than a degenerated world. Not only should it offer a lesson to be learnt from, but also an exercise in resurrection. In Muller's piece the personal relationships between the characters are pushed to the background in favour of a political reading of the events: the unavoidable fall of an ideology, which has become decadent. Two decades on, it is worth testing the vision of Anatomy Titus against today's reality. In an increasingly violent world Johan Simons wishes to raise the question of human vulnerability. After directing Hannibal at the Staatstheater in Stuttgart, Anatomy Titus is the second production which Johan Simons produces for a renowned German theatre: the Münchner Kammerspiele. This collaboration is the result of a longer process. In the autumn of 2001, in Munich, at the invitation of manager Frank Baumbauer, ZT Hollandia presented to much acclaim The Fall of the Gods and Voices. The request to direct Anatomy Titus came in the wake of the attacks on the Twin Towers. In his piece Müller evokes an apocalyptic vision of revenge and counter-revenge, culminating in the total destruction of Rome and the legacy of the Roman culture. Does this piece reflect the current collision between cultures? And where lies the end of this collision?

JOHAN SIMONS After initially training as a dancer at the Rotterdam Dansacademie and as an actor at the Toneelacademie Maastricht, Johan Simons (1946) started in 1976 as an actor/director with the Haagsche Comedie, Here he staged his first performance. In 1979 he started his own company, Het Wespetheater, and in 1982 Het Regiotheater, The merger in 1985 with another theatre company in Noord Holland led to the formation of Theatergroep Hollandia, From that moment on, he fully applied himself to directing.

Locations Under the direction of Johan Simons (and from 1987 also Paul Koek) Hollandia developed into one of the major companies of Dutch theatre. In particular, its choice to perform on location as much as possible, and thus bring reality directly to the theatre, contributed significantly to the company's strength. A breaker's yard for Greek tragedies, several greenhouses, a number of churches, a covered lock, vacated factories, all these locations contributed to eliminating the isolation many theatres find themselves in, which is in part also due to the architecture of these regular playhouses. Performance style In addition, Johan Simons and his regular cast of actors (Jeroen Willems, Elsie de Brauw, Bert Luppes and Betty Schuurman) developed a performance style which is typical to Hollandia: here and now, starting from a certain situation, with, besides language, always an autonomous physical movement of the personage, and, thanks to the contributions of composer / percussionist Paul Koek, with an eloquence showing a mature musical understanding. Particularly in the staging of Greek tragedies, which have been produced quite regularly over the years, this performance style is manifest. Combined with Paul Koek's musical contributions, and the stagemanagement developed by Johan Simons, this has constantly led to extraordinary productions ( Prometheus, Persians, Bacchae). Repertory After concentrating on Greek tragedies in the early nineties, and on the so-called rural pieces, Simons' interest gradually changes. The portrayal of man wilfully isolating himself from society, supposedly able to fend for himself, he abandons for the portrayal of man whose main concern is involvement, with one another and with the world. Man is a social being, who is able to fight against his own oppression, but is also able to exert influence and adjust or change the course of things. From this perspective his productions increasingly feature socially committed, sometimes explicitly political themes and issues ( Voices. The Fall of the Gods, Quick Lime, GENE).

International career Besides the powerful form language combined with the specific style of acting, this shift in interest led to Simons' work being noticed abroad. To much acclaim the aforementioned productions have travelled for years in English and German versions through Europe and the English-speaking countries beyond. The company was awarded several prizes. The jewel in the crown was the