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Sure, there’s a chill in the air when they do the Scottish play, everybody dies in “Hamlet” and “Titus Andronicus” has its fair share of amputations and cannibalism, but William Shakespeare is at his grisly best in the rarely-produced “Cymbeline.”

“It out-Grimms the Brothers Grimm,” said director Brian Isaac Phillips of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. “We have headless corpses and heads flying through the air.

“But as soon as I saw the villainess was a wicked stepmother, I knew we would have some fun with this. We’ve given it a neat Tim Burton feel, a lot of quirkiness and whimsy.”

Guest artist and Cincinnati favorite Amy Warner plays the wicked stepmother and resident actress Corinne Mohlenhoff plays Princess Imogen, King Cymbeline’s only daughter, who secretly marries against his wishes. The king banishes his daughter’s young groom, Posthumus, from his court.

The play is both a tragedy and a romance, Phillips said, with a touch of comedy. The scenic and costume design are inspired by Disney’s fairy tale world as well as the Brothers Grimm.

The cast also includes guest artists Sherman Fracher as a soothsayer and Memphis actor Jim Hopkins, who recently performed the title role in “Jerry Springer: The Opera,” as Belarius. With the regular players, there are 18 actors in the cast, the largest to ever grace the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company stage.

• WHAT: “Cymbeline” by William Shakespeare
• WHERE: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 719 Race St., Cincinnati
• WHEN: Today through Nov. 10
• COST: $20-$26
• MORE INFO: (513) 381-2273; www.cincyshakes.com