THE macabre Titus Andronicus may have been a firm favourite with Elizabethan audiences but it fails to hold the same appeal for current theatre goers.

Murder, mayhem, jealousy, revenge and buckets of blood provide all the hallmarks of the bard's tragedies but in Titus, Shakespeare abandons the classical rules and frequently teeters on farce.

The play begins as it means to end, with Titus ceremoniously parading his manacled trophies of war - the Queen of the Goths, her sons and her Moor lover Aron.

Only seconds into it and despite the desperate pleas of Tamora, her son Alarbus is sacrificed to the Roman gods. The move triggers an unrelenting chain of brutal vengeance and counter revenge - albeit with lighter touches of humour.

Blood curdling moments, however, abound. Titus has his hand hacked off on stage while his daughter Lavinia in a toe-twitching performance staggers on after being raped and having her tongue torn out and both hands severed for good measure.

The brutality culminates with Tamora being dished up a pie containing the remains of her sons before being stabbed, and Titus snapping the neck of his sullied daughter before he too meets his maker.

It is a theatrical rollercoaster which many in the audience may not wish to experience again, but the production is nevertheless portrayed with the RSC's usual consummate professionalism. Praise must go to David Bradley in the title role and Joe Dixon as the wonderfully wicked Aron.

* Runs until Saturday. Box office: 0870 905 5060

Published: 04/12/2003