As part of their current season, the RSC are performing an adaptation of the revenge tragedy, Titus Andronicus. The play explores the repercussions of the title characters actions as a returning Roman war hero, with his kin and enemies alike suffering from a deluge of vengeful actions.
From the moment you take your seats, you enter a world of sheer destruction and bloodshed. Characters meet a vast variety of fates, each as heinous as its predecessor. Throughout the course of the play, we see rape, dismemberment, blood poring from every possible orifice, and every possible form of murder available to the Romans. In particular, what we witness in the closing scenes of the play is pure Shakespearean carnage: a stabbing frenzy and total massacre that sees the stage littered with the bodies of the few characters who have not yet met a grizzly end.
Overall, I have to say that this performance is one of the best I have ever seen at the RSC, and it is certainly the most graphic. The company never disappoint with their adaptations, but in particular, the attention to detail, in regards to the stagecraft and use of costume, cements Titus as a truly remarkable play. The performances given by all of the cast are of the high standards you expect from the well-established company, with particular mentions to the young actress Rose Reynolds who plays Titus' long-suffering daughter Lavinia, and John Hopkins who portrays the emperor Saturninus in the adaptation. Any actor who can hold his breath underwater before being bathed live onstage deserves great recognition.
Titus Andronicus is currently showing at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon and ends on the 26th October.
