But we know that the history of literature is the history of laughter and pain. The imperatives from which there is no escape are: Laugh till it hurts, and hurt till you laugh! Lawrence Durrell, The Alexandria Quartet1 TITUS Ha, ha, ha! MARCUS Why dost thou laugh? It fits not with this hour. William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus2 I told him that backstage during Deborah Warner's Titus the actors kept a tally of audience faintings. In Jo'burg they used to vomit. One man, in a projectile eruption worthy of The Exorcist, vomited over several rows. I realised, as I scuttled back up the aisle, that I had just told a critic my production made people throw up. Gregory Doran, Woza Shakespeare!3
