Dr Peter Kirwan

Tag: The Taming of the Shrew

  • The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] (Again) (American Shakespeare Center) @ The Blackfriars Playhouse

    The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] (Again) (American Shakespeare Center) @ The Blackfriars Playhouse

    Every now and again, I’ve been lucky to see a revival of an existing play that makes that play feel freshly written, as if designed for that company and that moment. The reworking of Death of a Salesman for an African American family; Theatre Wallay’s reworking of The Taming of the Shrew as a commentary…

  • The Taming of the Shrew (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, via RSC Live

    The Taming of the Shrew (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, via RSC Live

    I’ve already written at length about Justin Audibert’s The Taming of the Shrew at the RSC, and a second viewing of it – this time courtesy of free tickets to the live broadcast, with thanks to the RSC social media team – helped clarify much of what makes the production work, but gave me little further insight into the central…

  • The Taming of the Shrew (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

    The Taming of the Shrew (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

    The setting for the RSC’s 2019 The Taming of the Shrew, the latest in a long line of attempts to find a way of making the play palatable as a comedy for the twenty-first century, ventured into the realms of speculative fiction. Director Justin Audibert’s concept imagined an alternative sixteenth century in which women were the dominant gender:…

  • The Taming of the Shrew @ Shakespeare’s Globe

    The Taming of the Shrew @ Shakespeare’s Globe

    NB – this review is of a production still in preview. In fact, not only was the Globe’s new production of The Taming of the Shrew still in preview, but the understudies weren’t yet fully rehearsed, as became apparent as the production’s interval stretched out to half an hour with still no sign of the actors. Sadly, Kathy…

  • The Taming of the Shrew (Propeller) @ Nottingham Theatre Royal

    The Taming of the Shrew (Propeller) @ Nottingham Theatre Royal

    I first saw Propeller in November 2006, when they contributed their Taming of the Shrew to the RSC’s Complete Works Festival in Stratford, which made this the most delayed return visit to a production I’ve ever had. Almost seven years later and with an almost entirely new cast, Propeller’s provocative and disquieting Shrew had lost none of its power…

  • The Taming of the Shrew @ Shakespeare’s Globe

    The Taming of the Shrew @ Shakespeare’s Globe

    Standing in the pit of the Globe on Thursday night, a disturbance broke out behind me. A steward remonstrated with a lager-swilling England fan, with tattoos on his cheeks and unkempt beard. Tourists moved to protect their belongings and their friends as the noisy man refused to leave the auditorium, then pushed through the crowd…

  • The Taming of the Shrew (Theatre Wallay) @ Shakespeare’s Globe

    “This is a sacred space” announced Salman Shahid, introducing Theatre Wallay’s Globe to Globe production of The Taming of the Shrew. For the first time that I’ve seen in a Globe to Globe production, a member of the company came onto the stage to introduce the play and the company’s honour at being here, before asking the musicians to play…

  • The Taming of the Shrew (RSC) @ Nottingham Theatre Royal

    The Taming of the Shrew (RSC) @ Nottingham Theatre Royal

    The Taming of the Shrew carries a great deal of baggage with it. The gender politics that are inevitably foregrounded in production (is this inevitable? Are there other issues that are being obscured?) are read through the identity of the director, through our own filters of acceptable behaviour, and through our conflicted desires to enjoy a…

  • The Taming of the Shrew (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre

    Irish director Conall Morrison made waves in Stratford last year with his violently explicit production of Macbeth, a flawed but compelling show that demonstrated his fascination with sexual abuse and the blurring of lines between dark comedy and outrage. It is little surprise, then, that this uncompromising director has been invited back to Stratford to helm…

  • The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare Institute Players) @ The Shakespeare Institute

    This is, without a doubt, the best value for money I have ever had for a play. Five pounds, which included three and a half glasses of wine. I can only hope professional companies take note… The main charm of the Shakespeare Institute Players’ production of The Taming of the Shrew is the informal and relaxed atmosphere.…