The whole is served up with clever choreography that gives an element of the abstract to the barbarism. Laced with a touch of dark humour, director Max Webster has made this disturbing production palatable, and the audience on press night lapped it up.

Revenge, it seems, knows no bounds, and there is scarcely a character in this piece who is left untouched by its force.

The setting for the viscous blood-bath is the return from war of Roman general Titus Andronicus, along with his captives, Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her three sons and Aaron, her lover. The groundwork for vengeance is therefore laid. Aaron above all, whom Shakespeare describes as a Moor, is driven to extremes by rage. Not only is he a captive and forced to see Tamora taken as Empress by the new Emperor Saturninus, but he is subjected to racist epithets throughout.

Close behind in the force of her fury is Tamora, who has witnessed her first-born son dismembered and his remains burned by Andronicus in retribution for those they slayed in warfare. The revenge that she and her remaining sons wreak on Andronicus’ daughter, Lavinia, is the beginning of a sequence of events which can only spiral in one direction.

As events unfold, skilful directing and masterful performances lead us to a place where we are, ultimately, in no one’s camp. The question as to who really is the villain has no clear answer here. Instead, we come away with a glimpse into the psyche of those driven by such depth of sorrow and by such profound rage.

There is a telling moment when Andronicus, brilliantly played by Simon Russell Beale, laughs because he has no more tears to shed. Aaron, majestically played by Natey Jones, provides more telling moments in his final speeches, when he wishes that he had done yet more to take revenge on those who wished him ill. Tamora completes the triangle. Her complex and dignified portrayal by Wendy Kweh contributes much to the sense of power shifts between the three leads.

The production does not shy away from the racism that is embedded in Shakespeare’s text, both in its verbal and its body language. But in Tamora and Aaron, we have characters with agency, who refuse to play the victim. The play’s one moment of redemption is perhaps contained in Aaron’s demonstration of love for his new-born son, and his pride in the blackness of his baby’s skin.

The set is pared back, enhanced only by the appearance of chains from which people are variously hung and a pit into which bodies are thrown. By the end, the quantity of blood being shed is indicated by its gushing out of hosepipes. In a final touch which suggests that we have not witnessed the end of the blood-letting, the young Lucius (played on press night by Tristan Arthur) wields the lever that drops the huge stone lid onto the pit containing the still living Aaron.

Lighting effects and sound track support the choreography and create an atmosphere of rising tension. Tamora’s asides are accompanied by the dimming of lighting, focusing attention on her inner thoughts.

Performances across the whole cast are full of insight into the human condition. Andronicus’ descent into grief is fiercely intense, whilst his anger is palpable. Aaron’s endless state of restlessness indicates the visceral rage within, whilst Tamora and her two sons, Chiron (Marlowe Chan-Reeves) and Demetrius (Jeremy Ang Jones) are pure wolf as they position themselves for the violation of Lavinia (Letty Thomas).

This production of Titus Andronicus is one that lingers in the mind, in part because of its visceral nature, and in part because of its undercurrents. It is the unspoken that makes it a compulsive watch. The inference that, above all else, there is a human need for respect from others, and for the consequent feeling of self-worth.

Titus Andronicus was directed by Max Webster. Set and costumes were designed by Joanna Scotcher. Lighting was designed by Lee Curran. The sound designer was Tingying Dong.

It runs at Stratford until 7th June. For further information visit rsc.org.uk