What did Shakespeare's original productions look like? The sketch here is one of the few contemporary pictures of an actual performance, in this case the early tragedy Titus Andronicus, a play set in ancient Rome. One is struck by how elaborate the costumes are. We know from the account books of the theatrical manager Henslowe that the most valuable asset of acting companies was usually the costumes. These were frequently used clothes bought from the court or noble families. In an age obsessed with fashion, it was important for the actors to have the "right look."

More importantly this picture shows us that the audience was encouraged to see the play, regardless of when or where it was set, as a commentary on their own age. Standing in the middle of the picture is Titus, wearing what appears to be a toga and a laurel wreath on his head as befits a military hero of Rome. He is talking to a group, which includes Tamora, Queen of the Goths; Tamora's two loutish sons who rape and mutilate Titus' daughter; and Aaron the Moor, Tamora's clandestine lover. All these characters are dressed in the finery of the Elizabethan court. Behind Titus stand his soldiers, dressed in the military uniforms of the English army! This visual mix of the ancient and the contemporary is often matched in the text, so that Brutus in Julius Caesar, set in ancient Rome, speaks of his clock, and Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, describes her lace gown. Every city that is described in a Shakespearean play always sounds like London, the city Shakespeare and his audience knew best.

What this sketch should remind us is that Shakespeare's works do not need to be performed in Elizabethan costume in order to be authentic. The playwright himself wanted his audience to draw parallels between his stories and their own time. Tamora was meant to be seen as an intriguer in the Elizabethan court, Titus as a good military man undone by political conspiracies. There were certainly similar people and situations in the court of Elizabeth, but the politics of the time precluded Shakespeare portraying these too directly. Contemporary directors and actors in our age often claim the same privilege. We should not judge Shakespearean productions in 1999 by how close they are in costume and setting to 1599.