Article: Laughter in the abyss of human cruelty.(Theater review)

Byline: NICK CURTIS

IT'S a credit to Lucy Bailey's production of Titus Andronicus that at least four people fainted the night I saw it. Shakespeare's first major play is a rackety mix of over-the-top gore and macabre comedy, constantly at risk of seeming simply ludicrous.

Bailey and her cast led by Douglas Hodge's Titus don't stint on the horror.

The play's many revenge-fuelled mutilations, beheadings and stabbings seem soberingly relevant today, given the rule of the blade in East Timor, Iraq, even South Norwood.

But Shakespeare's unhinged, humour is also embraced. The Globe is wrapped and roofed-in with black material and audience ...

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