Titus Andronicus RSC review - More than gore and horror on Stratford stage

Blood. Gore. Murder. Rape. Torture. These are the things for which Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare’s early tragedy of dynastic rivalry are famous. Certainly, they are there in plenty, but though some audiences might be attracted to the play to witness its notoriety, there is much more to enjoy and reflect upon in this production.

Titus Andronicus is, on the surface, a play about family rivalry and naked ambition. Titus himself (Simon Russell Beale) is a distinguished Roman general who, having defeated Rome’s arch enemies the Goths, turns down the offer of the Emperor’s throne, so opening the way for less honourable but more unscrupulous rivals to seize power. Complicating this are relationships and conspiracies between the noble Romans and their subject barbarian prisoners who, in a twist of fortune, are raised to power on a wave of tyranny.

Rome might pride itself that it is not so base as its enemies, but soon we see that beneath the veneer of civilisation lie primal emotions as dark as any on the battlefield or, indeed, in the woods that surround Rome. For that is where the most notorious of many crimes is committed, the rape and mutilation by Tamora’s sons of Titus’s daughter, Lavinia (Letty Thomas). Driving them on is the mysterious persona of Aaron, a ‘Moor’ and lover of Tamora, Queen of the Goths, who is now the wife of Emperor Saturninus (Joshua James). Aaron is portrayed as the devil incarnate, a charming and malicious schemer who asks for and gives no mercy, apology or reason. He is played with almost supernatural force by Natey Jones, mixing horror with bitter humour that is terrifyingly seductive.

Titus Andronicus is a power play full of high melodrama. Emotions are raw and actions are bold to the point of audacious. Performances are powerful throughout, as one might expect from a cast headed by Beale and Emma Fielding (as Titus’s sister, Marcia). The staging is stark; the presiding colours are grey, black, blue or white, against which the torrents of red blood stand out all the more starkly. The mechanics of the abattoir feature prominently in the gantries high above the stage, from which are lowered from time to time chains and restraints used to hold their cargoes up for torture or execution. This is the industrial machinery of pain.

Thrill seekers will not be disappointed, but there is much beauty to be found in the language and in the complex shading of emotions that wrack the characters as they suffer and cause suffering in their turn. The actors deliver their lines with a clarity and power not always evident from the RSC.

By taking an uncompromising look at the depths to which men and women can stoop, Shakespeare leads us through the shadows, asking us in reflection to seek the light, even if he does not tell us where it is.

Titus Andronicus runs until June 7 2025. See rsc.org.uk or call 01789 331111 to book.