Titus Andronicus

Shakespeare’s first tragedy is a doozy, with nine on-stage killings and a bunch more offstage. Tongues, hands, and even heads are joylessly removed from their owners as two mothers take turns killing off all their children. (Burbage Theatre Company founder Jeff Church made Titus female.) Christin Goff excels as the increasingly evil empress Tamora, a counterpoint to Rae Mancini’s understated warrior Titus. The front row of the audience are given trash bag ponchos to wear lest they get splattered with fake blood, though really the violence is no more cruel or rapey than your average Game of Thrones episode.