Antonin Artaud's The Cenci, now getting a rare revival by the Hotel Savant companyt at the Ohio Theater, may have shocked audiences in 1935. But today, little about this portrait of a sexually voracious and sadistic Italian nobleman's exploits stuns. Neither does Artaud's dramaturgy -- which eschews psychological realism and slavish fidelity to a text in order to assault the senses through image and gesture. Still, there is much to recommend in John Jahnke's über-stylish, if uneven, production.

The nobleman in question here is Count Cenci (Anthony Torn), who has two of his sons murdered and rapes his daughter, Beatrice (Lauren Blumenfeld). In revenge for these acts and others, Beatr[...]