By Christopher Joseph
Shakespeare’s infamous tragedy Titus Andronicus, now produced by Gem City Groundlings, is an all-out gore fest, complete with a smorgasbord of severed hands and heads, revenge killings, political betrayals, and enough mayhem to make a Quentin Tarantino movie look positively restrained. Bodies pile up. Families turn on one another. Nearly everyone makes terrible decisions. Who knew that when a relatively unknown young playwright named William Shakespeare was trying to break onto England’s major stages, he had to work so hard to earn street credibility?
It’s clearly over the top, even by Shakespearean standards. But when one realizes that Titus Andronicus was among his earliest plays to achieve widespread popularity, it starts to make sense. Shakespeare wasn’t yet the literary giant we know today. While Henry VI had already proven he could attract audiences with patriotic history, Titus helped establish his reputation as a tragedian and proved he could draw audiences just as effectively as his history plays. More than 500 years later, the influence of those early experiments can still be seen throughout modern film and theatre.
The Plot
In Gem City Groundlings’ latest production, directed by Dr. Jan Powell, the company remains largely faithful to Shakespeare’s original vision. Titus (Andrew Mitakides) begins as a celebrated Roman general, so devoted to his country that he willingly sacrifices nearly everything–including his sons–for Rome’s glory. Unfortunately for him, Rome proves far less loyal in return.
The story centers on Titus and the captured Gothic queen Tamora (Amanda Maynus), whose competing desires for justice and revenge pull everyone around them into an increasingly destructive cycle. The plot twists, double-crosses, and escalating acts of retaliation come so quickly that trying to summarize them all would require a flow chart and possibly a therapist. Amid all the bloodshed, the play becomes a story of warring families whose betrayals prove more destructive than any battlefield conflict, plunging parents and children alike into a soap-operatic cycle of violence and revenge.
What makes Titus Andronicus fascinating isn’t simply the violence. Shakespeare is clearly experimenting, throwing every dramatic idea he can think of onto the stage. Some of it is crude. Some of it is excessive. Some of it borders on absurd. Yet buried beneath the bloodshed is a surprisingly compelling story about parents and children, loyalty and corruption, and what happens when revenge becomes more important than humanity.
Strong Performances
Mitakides embraces Titus’s journey from celebrated but naive hero to broken father with enthusiasm. One of his strongest moments comes late in the play, when he explains his plot to Chiron and Demetrius. Grief, rage, and dark humor collide in a speech that reveals just how far Titus has fallen. It’s a scene where the hero has become the aggressor, revealing flashes of the dramatic complexity Shakespeare would later refine in characters such as Othello and Brutus. Sure, the play is crude, violent, and occasionally unpolished, but so are many artists’ earliest successes. Mitakides handles the production’s demanding physicality well and clearly relishes the role’s larger-than-life nature.
Amanda Maynus shines as Tamora. She begs Titus to spare her son Alarbus (Sebastian Wells) from being sacrificed for Rome by having his limbs hacked off and then thrown into a fire, a request that is flatly denied. Here, Alarbus is depicted as the youngest son, which gives the tragedy deeper meaning. Then later, Lavinia (Ella Wessel) pleads with Tamara for immediate death rather than let Tamara’s no-good sons, Chiron (Aeson Liddic) and Demetrius have their way with her. Tamora is a juicy female role that foreshadows Gertrude, Queen Margaret, and Cleopatra. Her response is, more or less, “You think your tears will affect me? Did mine affect your father before he slaughtered my son? Take her away, boys.” Lavinia then pleads with each son in turn, only to be turned down again.
Aaron Harris throws himself into the role of Aaron with obvious enjoyment. Aaron is one of Shakespeare’s most entertaining villains—clever, manipulative, and often the smartest person in the room. Much of the play’s chaos unfolds because of the schemes he sets in motion behind the scenes, guiding others toward increasingly terrible decisions while rarely getting his own hands dirty.
Yet one of the play’s most poignant turns comes when Aaron’s own child enters the story. For all his cunning and lack of remorse, Aaron becomes fiercely devoted to protecting his son and securing the boy’s future. It is one of the few moments in Titus Andronicus where genuine concern for another person breaks through the revenge and bloodshed. Even as Aaron refuses to apologize for his actions, Shakespeare grants him an unexpected measure of humanity through his role as a father.
Harris brings plenty of zest and energy to the role, particularly in Aaron’s more mischievous moments. There are opportunities, however, to lean even further into both the character’s menace and his complexity. Aaron is at once monster, mastermind, and devoted father—a fascinating contradiction that provides some of the play’s most memorable moments.
Other Standouts
Other standouts include James Walker as Marcus, whose experience and confidence help anchor many scenes. Michael Doyle, as Lucius, serves as one of the story’s few reminders that not everyone in Rome has completely lost their mind.
For all the play’s brutality, some of its most powerful moments come when characters are forced to confront the consequences of their actions on their children. Tamora’s grief, Titus’s devastation over his family, and even Aaron’s concern for the future all hint at the humanity struggling to survive beneath the carnage.
Production Team
With so many moving parts, it’s impressive what the Groundlings accomplish here. A few sound and lighting issues occasionally distract from the action, and some performers could project more consistently. Still, the company continues to make excellent use of the Masonic Temple’s architecture, transforming the entire space into part of the storytelling rather than limiting the action to a traditional stage.
The fight choreography helps keep the numerous confrontations clear and engaging, while Theresa Ankenman’s costumes support the production’s period setting. The cast’s commitment sells even the play’s most outrageous moments, which is no small feat given some of the material Shakespeare asks them to perform. Powell keeps the sprawling story moving at a brisk pace, helping the audience navigate Shakespeare’s tangled web of betrayals and revenge without losing momentum.
And finally, one cannot help but wonder about the poor woman who apparently agreed to have Titus’s twenty-six children. Shakespeare leaves that story untold, probably for the best.
Titus Andronicus remains one of Shakespeare’s strangest and most extreme works. It is messy, excessive, occasionally ridiculous, and undeniably influential. Gem City Groundlings embraces all of those qualities in a production that is ambitious, energetic, and frequently entertaining. If you’ve never experienced Shakespeare’s bloodiest play, this production offers a memorable introduction. Just don’t get too attached to anybody.
Tickets
Gem City Groundlings’ Titus Andronicus runs June 15th, 17th, and 19th at the Dayton Masonic Center. Tickets are available online at WWW.GEMCITYGROUNDLINGS.COM through the Eventbrite platform.
FREE COMMUNITY DAYS PERFORMANCE: On June 25th, a free performance of Titus Andronicus will take place outdoors at Levitt Pavilion in Downtown Dayton, 7-9 pm
As You Like It–one of Shakespeare’s beloved comedies–is playing in rotation with Titus Andronicus
- Ticketed indoor performances June 14th, 16th, and 18th, 2026 at the Dayton Masonic Center.
- Outdoor: Saturday, June 20 7:00pm at Stubbs Park, Centerville, OH – donations accepted
- Outdoor: Friday, June 26 7:00pm at Levitt Pavilion Downtown Dayton – donations accepted
Christopher Joseph: My passion lies in writing. I embarked on a writing quest once a mysterious typewriter appeared on my family’s porch in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Constantly engulfed in art, drawing, music, and after years at many, many, odd jobs as fodder for many diverse stories to come; it was a natural progression. Visit my website: https://about.me/christopher.j88
