On Stage: The Taming of the Shrew

The Melbourne Shakespeare Company’s tradition of offering fun interpretations of Shakespearean plays in the park continues with The Taming of the Shrew.

In typical MSC style modern musical songs feature, there are contemporary Melbourne references while roles are reversed in the production being staged at Central Park Malvern.

Songs featured in the 90-minute show include A Girl Like You, I want You, I Believe in Miracles, Faith, I Only Want To Be With You and What I Like About You.

The major characters come from Malvern, Camberwell, Ashburton, Dandenong and Toorak and go shopping at Chadstone!

The production takes role reversals to a new level with the audience deciding by a vote of cheers whether a female or male actor plays Katerina, the Shrew and Petruchio, the man determined to subdue Katerina’s legendary temper.

The decision is made during the first act of the play which sees the show’s director Sly dealing with several casting and prop issues.  Once the decision is made most of the cast of 14 then change on the set into the costumes of their designated roles.

As is the case with all MSC productions the actors feature the names of their characters on their costumes, which is particularly useful given the gender reversals.

These reversals include Katerina’s parent Baptista being female as opposed to the traditional male and her sibling – who, Baptista insists, cannot wed before Katerina – is a male called Bianco as opposed to the tradition of a female named Bianca.

Despite the gender shifts the basis of the show we saw was the same as the original – that is Katerina is a strong-willed woman who doesn’t deal with fools lightly.

The extremely confident Petruchio is determined to marry Katerina due to her dowry and does everything possible to `tame her’ including not feeding her and depriving her of the clothes she likes.

At the same time Bianco is being pursued by a number of wealthy women suitors. Identities are swapped to ensure the women get closer to Bianco.

According to director Emma Austin The Taming of the Shrew is considered one of Shakespeare’s problem plays.

“The chaotic marriage plot and battle-of-the-sexes humour can feel at odds with how we think about gender, autonomy, and power today. But for me, that tension is exactly what makes the show so exciting to tackle.

“I saw a documentary where Meryl Streep talked about playing Katerina opposite Raul Julia, and something she said struck me: ‘It’s the story of a relationship of two people who don’t just come together quietly in a cafe. They run smash into each other.’ And she’s right.

“In this cut of the text, you can really see the love between Kate and Petruchio – not soft, polite love, but the kind where two people finally meet someone who can match them. Someone who recognises the armour, understands the games, and is playing them too.

“Instead of seeing Katherine as a ‘difficult’ problem, we see her pushing back against a world that’s uncomfortable with her self-possession. Her so-called ‘shrewishness’ says a lot more about the society around her than it does about her. In our show Kate always makes the choice. It’s her choice to go with him. Her choice to join in his games.”

As with previous shows most cast members are given the chance to showcase their acting and vocal skills. Leading the way are JP Vizcay-Wilson who played Petruchio on the night we attended (but who can become Katerino depending on the audience vote), Kian Pitman who played Katerina but also can play Petruchio as Petruchia and Ali Samaei as the producer Sly. All were excellent.

Other cast members include Jackson Cross as Grumio, Lucas Dwyer as Bianco, Charlie Morris as Lucentia, Lyndall Grant as Baptista, Chris Broadstock as Vincentio and Curtis, Kaia Reyes as Biondella, Oliver Gorringe as the Widower, Gisele Forsyth as Hortensia, Daniel Hillman as Pedant and Smeeta Singh as Gremio.

Their work combined with some innovative staging and creative musical and script additions ensure the show offers a fun and entertaining outdoor theatrical experience.

The Taming of the Screw is playing at Central Park Malvern at 3pm and 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays until March 15.  Visit the Melbourne Shakespeare Company website for more information and tickets.

Jenny Burns attended a performance on Saturday March 1 as a guest of the production company.

*Photo credit: Nick Robertson