The Taming of the Shrew (1986)

General confusion and uproar, farcical and witty language and the presence of some of the most ridiculous characters in comedy are probably amongst the reasons why ”The Taming of the Shrew” is so much-loved by modern audiences. However, a production of the play in New York a few years ago, ”…came close to stopping every night when the audience were furious to hear Petruchio talk about his bride: ‘She is my goods, my chattels…’”. It is also reported that the play provoked strong reaction in its own day. The question to be raised is ”was the play meant to be taken literally?”

The characters in ”The Taming of the Shrew” are most certainly those of farce. Perhaps it is more appropriate to describe them as ”outrageous” because they seem to overstep the bounds of acceptable behaviour, Petruchio's colourful insults, Kate's quick-witted replies and Grumio's mischievous character all suggest that the play is not to be taken seriously. Indeed - there are almost a hundred lines between Grumio and Curtis (bearing no relevance to the course of the play) which seem to be pure, comical fun. After all, it is a play ”which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life”.

Wesley's production of ”The Taming of the Shrew” involved an unusual modification. The character of Lucretia Minola (Elise Conabere) was introduced as Baptista's wife. Furthermore, Baptista Minola (Justin Young) assumed a weak, subservient role while Lucretia took on a dominant, aggressive character. In fact, Baptista appeared to play the part of the ”traditional” wife while Lucretia dominated like a ”traditional” husband. She took an authoritative, business-like stance - ridiculing and subordinating her husband. This seemed to confuse the issue of sex-quality even further - which is the point of ”The Taming of the Shrew”. The sense of absurdity in the play simply emphasises the absurdity of the struggle for sexual equality. Respecting Wesley's co-educational status it seemed appropriate that the female roles were played by women rather than men (as was traditional in Elizabethan times).

In the early part of the Wesley play, Kate (Nicole Nabout) was seen lo be superficially as spiteful and rude. It was not surprising to hear of her unpopularity amongst the men. When she is ”tamed”, at the conclusion of the play she appears to have a calm, quiet nature, Bianca (Emily Wllks) was played as a pathetically sweet and chirpy character - with a fair share of wit. As the play proceeds, the audience sympathises with Kate's ill-treatment; and when all is said and done -she no longer appears to have shrewish tendencies. However, Bianca's sharp wit, and her apparently inconstant love for Lucentia (Chris Gabardi) gives her the shrewish qualities which seemed so prominent in her sister Petruchio (Richard Moshinsky) and his Sidekick Grumio (Sally Bonython) played lively, humorous parts, throwing around colourful insults at every opportunity, displaying an admirable partnership.

Wesley's production revealed some of the most extraordinary characters, this aspect of the play is probably what pleased the actors most. They had much freedom in choosing their interpretation of parts - and were encouraged to exaggerate them. Many weekends of rehearsal were spent in laughter and delight at the variations of character offered. It seems as though the audience was equally surprised at the comical absurdity of the play. The triumph of the Wesley production was that it opened the language of Shakespeare (which is often difficult to comprehend) to all age groups.

Cast, Crew & Orchestra