This brilliant, brutal fare from Poland’s Song Of The Goat Theatre Company takes Shakespeare’s early, blood-drenched play Titus Andronicus as its raw material. But that’s just the beginning. What we have here is part opera, part modern dance, part exercise in live storytelling. It’s utterly potty, for sure, and veers close to arch-pretension at times. But it’s also gloriously compelling for large stretches.

Founding member of the Wroclaw-based troupe, Grzegorz Bral places himself very much at the forefront of proceedings. He narrates against a subtitled backdrop while a black-robed, sinuous, often bare-chested cast enacts events in dialogue and song, banging on wooden soundboxes that double as props. From murder to rape to murder and…well you know the plot (if you don’t, lucky you).

The soundtrack is a particular highlight, with Greek chorus counterpointed against scratchy folk music on squeezebox, pipes, violin and drum. If this magnificent caterwaul makes the occasional line inaudible, that seems to suit the raw, grimy appeal of this whole thing. In fact, the only element that jars is Bral’s somewhat obtuse introduction. Perhaps it’s a Brechtian device, but it expounds on the play’s subtexts before we’ve had a chance to see it, detracting from what follows rather than framing it. So, cover your ears for the first two minutes, then enjoy the bloodletting.

Andronicus Synecdoche, ZOO Southside, until 27 August, 8.20pm.