Queensland Theatre presents The Taming of The Shrew
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Damien Ryan
Brilliantly Innovative, “’ Tis a very excellent piece of work!”
Dr Gemma Regan
With a 1920’s movie set, starlet posters and Ella Fitzgerald fittingly crooning “Let’s do it, let’s fall in love” we knew we would be in for a treat with the Queensland Theatre’s production of The Taming of The Shrew. They are renowned for putting a unique interpretative spin on each production; sexes are interchanged (in good ol’ Shakespeare style) and eras and contexts distorted, but this reimagining of “the shrew" as an Amelia Earhart character was inspired!
Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew is one of the more controversial plays, often due to the varied interpretations of Katherine/Kate, the shrew. She can be played either as a cunning heroine or a downtrodden victim of misogynistic abuse. With the director Damien Ryan casting Kate as an Italian roguish aviator in the 1920’s, she instantly becomes an innovative champion for feminists. She uses her radical fierce behaviour and boyish appearance, performed brilliantly by Anna McGahan (Hydra, The Effect) to ward off any potential suitors, until she meets her match in the scheming sea-captain Petruchio (Nicholas Brown, debut).
The combination of the direction of Ryan and the innovative design realisation of Adam Gardnir, combined with moving sets, a spectacular cast and the inspired use of film shorts, blew every other production out of the water! Having seen Jonathan Miller’s RSC production with the neglected Fiona Shaw as Kate and the fatherly Brian Cox’s Petruchio, the Queensland Theatre’s interpretation and execution was far superior!
The 1920’s dynamic Italian film set provided an interesting context for the play. Kate’s beautiful sister Bianca is the starlet (Claudia Ware, debut) doted on by their exasperated father and movie director Baptista (John McNeill, debut). In keeping with the movie theme, inspirational black and white silent movie clips with the actors out and about in Brisbane were interspersed throughout the play. These were outstanding, providing situational context to the characters and some great slapstick to boot, which Shakespeare would verily have utilised given the opportunity.
Each character was cleverly portrayed, creating an interesting palette of personalities. Leon Cain was hilarious as Biondello, the loyal but intellectually lacking servant of the masculine Lucentio (Patrick Jhanur, debut). He is comically confused when Lucentio swaps roles with his sister Tania (Ellen Bailey, Storm boy, Much Ado About Nothing). Bryan Probert’s misinterpretation of Petruchio’s commands as his servant Grumio, was also ludicrous. Even the incidental characters were good, with the crew-mates all tumbling from one side to the other in perfect synchrony as they rode the waves. Then there was their utter exasperation with Kate, as each time she refused to accept that the sun was the moon Petruchio marched them all repeatedly back to the ship until they begged her to buckle to his will. He steadfastly proceeded to “tame” her despite the crew’s hilariously desperate protestations.
The clever use of the final movie short at Archerfield airport, filmed by videographer David Soncin, masterfully resolves the often uncomfortable interpretations of Kate’s ironic monologue “place your hands below your husband's foot, in token of which duty, if he please, My hand is ready, may it do him ease.” The clip transformed the interpretation of the phrase from a submission of Kate’s will into a harmonious union of opposites when she is finally “tamed.” It was a deviously creative resolution to the best production I have seen of The Taming of the Shrew, “’ Tis a very excellent piece of work!”