Bedlam Theatre
27-29 Nov

* * * *

Before entering the theatre, the audience is told to avoid sitting in the front three rows if their clothes are not machine washable. We go in, where a red light is focused on what turns out to be a burial pit, and notice that alongside the producers and stage managers listed in the programme, there is a ‘Master of Gore’. Clearly we are in for a bloody treat.

Particularly for a venue as intimate as Bedlam, the violence and blood-shed was realistic; and true to the warning from the Bedlam staff, a couple of audience members may have been splashed as one of the characters is bouldered to death.

The part gaining most groans from the audience, however, is the scene featuring Titus (Conner Jones) having his hand sawn off to save the lives of his two sons. This leaves him wailing and brandishing his bloody stump at the audience before his sons heads are thrown at his feet, along with his own severed hand.
He is not even the only one to be missing a hand at the end of the production, with his daughter Lavinia (Leonie Sheridan) losing both of hers, as well as her tongue - just to give you some perspective on the level of violence.

The realism of these events was improved by several heart-felt performances, especially those depicting the characters’ angry or fearful reactions to the horrible events. Daisy Badger is particularly successful in her portrayal of Tamora, the bitch of the piece.

Although the audience has to wait a little while for the action to kick off, when it does we are offered some interesting visuals. The actors utilised the space well, especially considering that the burial pit was the only real set device, and it was full to the brim by the end of the production.

The set facilitates an especially effective visual when Aaron (Ed Sheridan) is captured and strung up with ropes from a series of rafters, threatened with the prospect of being hung.

And of course, the final scene where the characters who are in the minority of still being alive wade through the bodies of those who have slaughtered each other.

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