Titus Andronicus has been described as 'Shakespeare’s festival of gore', 'the biggest bloodbath in Shakespeare’s canon', a play 'where tit-for-tat killings spiral out of control', and 'Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy, stuffed with such horrors as rape, casual slaughter, dismemberment and decapitation.' There were only three productions at the RSC between Peter Brook’s production with Laurence Olivier in 1955 and Bill Alexander’s current production, in which David Bradley plays the Roman general Titus, head of the Andronici.

The Titus Andronicus Play Guide has been written to complement the current production. We hope it will prove of interest to students, teachers and audiences alike and shed light on the production process at the RSC.

The Guide is divided into six sections and illustrated with photographs, not just from the current production, but from earlier productions by Deborah Warner (1987), John Barton (1981), Trevor Nunn (1972) and Peter Brook (1955).

Sections: 'About the play', 'The current production', 'For students', 'For teachers', 'General interest' and 'More about the RSC'.

References are to the Arden edition of the play (ed. Jonathan Bate 2003). Aaron the Moor is spelt Aron the Moor in this production, for more information about the spelling, go to the interview with Joe Dixon in the Current Production section.

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