The combination of pain and pleasure to which Aufidius bears witness is strikingly reminiscent of Volumnia�s maternal feelings, in which aggressiveness toward the beloved seems to loom large. It is impossible to distinguish hostility from attraction, competition from dependency, combat from homosexual embrace. The warrior loves his adversary because he needs a manly competitor against whom to establish his own identity. The striving for autonomy depends on the existence of something set off against, beside, or below it.
Both productions are therefore crucial examples of how a text can be read legitimately and enlighteningly through performance.
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Wells, Stanley ed. Cambridge Companion: Shakespeare�s Tragedies London: CUP 2000
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Articles:
Billington, Michael. The Guardian, 26/5/94
De Jongh, Nicholas. The Evening Standard 25/5/94
Gross, John. The Sunday Telegraph (27/8/89)
Macaulay, Alistair. Review for Financial Times (27/8/89)
Peter, John. Review for The Sunday Times (29/8/89)
Filmography:
Coriolanus Dir. Terry Hands. Perf.Charles Dance, Malcolm Storry, Barbara Jeffers.
Recorded at the RST, Stratford 12/1/90. Videocassette.
Coriolanys Dir. David Thacker. Perf. Toby Stephens, Barry Lynch, Claire Blakiston.
Recorded at the Swan Theatre, Stratford 25/5/94. Videocassette.
