Titus

Overview

Dark, dirty and devious, Titus is a brutal tale of deception and cold-blooded revenge.

Re-imagined in a Post-Modernist anarchic wasteland, Titus is a modern, streamlined version of Shakespeare's most gruesome tragedy. Director Benjamin Henson reinterprets Titus Andronicus, taking it to new heights, and murky depths while keeping Shakespeare's words alive.

Titus is the dark horse in Shakespeare's back catalogue, brimming with violence and gore. The story takes place in ancient Rome, where the Emperor has just died and his sons Bassianus and Saturninus are fighting over the throne. Amidst the chaos Titus returns with prisoners in tow, victorious after 10 years of battle with the Goths.

Though Titus is the people's choice for Emperor, he declines and Saturninus takes the throne. Saturninus deceives Titus, who kills his own son, and marries one of the captives - Tamora, Queen of the Goths. Titus wants blood in return, but so does Tamora. Set in motion is a vicious cycle of revenge, no holds barred.

Touted as "Shakespeare's most acidic work...on acid," Titus is certainly twisted. The production is refreshingly fast-paced, with a peppering of black humour. The all male cast of seven play 10 characters between them, including two women. There was not a weak performance among them, and Cole Jenkins (Tamora) and Eli Matthewson (Lavinia) were most convincing in their female roles.

Despite clear costume changes, with characters coming and going and dying left right and centre, it was at times difficult to keep up. However, once things started really flowing, I was totally engrossed and with them every bloody step of the way.

Titus definitely has a raw quality to it, but the talented boys from Unitec's Class of 2012 have taken their university production to another level. Their commitment and potential is obvious and the result is an impressive, punchy piece of Shakespeare.