Review: The Taming of the Shrew – The Adelaide University Theatre Guild
The Adelaide University Theatre Guild’s new adaption of one of Shakespeare’s more problematic plays puts The Taming of the Shrew into a new realm of pop and rock music to great effect while still holding mostly true to the original text.
Dispensing with Shakespeare’s original play within a play concept, and instead of being set in the usual Padua, this version is set in Paradise which is “a powerhouse record label and the battlefield is the charts.” The play begins with Bianca (Jessica Merrick) and her band singing and dancing to her pop song, then enters Katherine (Heather Crawford), her rock chick older sister with her band and her sharp edges.
Bianca has two suitors, Gremio (Martin Penhale) and Hortensio (Macey Lawson) who wish to marry her but her mother, Minola Baptista (Deborah Walsh), will not agree to anyone marrying Bianca until her older sister Katherine is married. Lucentio (Ben Proeve) arrives with his loyal servant, Tranio (John Charles), and Lucentio also falls in love with Bianca. To try to win her love, Lucentio disguises himself as a tutor for Bianca and Hortensio disguises himself as a musician to also gain access to her to try to do the same. Tranio disguises himself as Lucentio to help convince Minola Baptista to allow Lucentio to marry Bianca.
Standing in their way however is Minola Baptista’s demands that the quarrelsome Katherine be married first. Petruchio (Tom Tassone) arrives and after hearing about Katherine he decides to court her, and he is assisted in this task by Gremio and Hortensio. Upon meeting Petruchio, Katherine resists his advances, but he is not discouraged and he sets a wedding date and so begins the taming of the shrew.
Setting the play in Paradise and revising it for a contemporary time is successful and adds a welcome fresh dimension to the play, although the audience seemed to be a little confused by Bianca and Katherine’s entry. In addition, modern music references to the original text brings many humorous elements. The limited space of the Little Theatre always adds production issues, but both levels of the theatre are skilfully utilised by Olivia Jane Parker’s first-rate direction. In addition, the music includes songs by Ben Waller and two songs by Macey Lawson.
The whole cast handles the fast-moving proceedings superbly, Tom Tassone as Petruchio, John Charles as Tranio with Macey Lawson as Hortensio are particularly impressive. Heather Crawford delivers Katherine’s long final monologue exceptionally.
This version of the thorny The Taming of the Shrew, set innovatively in the modern music scene, is outstandingly well performed and adds to the long line of exceptional productions by the Theatre Guild.
Reviewed by Rob McKinnon
Rating; 4/5
Production Details
Venue: Little Theatre, Adelaide University, The Cloisters, Adelaide SA 5005
Performance Dates:
Saturday 9 May – 3pm
Sunday 10 May – 3pm
Wednesday 13 May – 6:30pm (w/ post-show Q&A)
Thursday 14 May – 7:30pm
Friday 15 May – 7:30pm
Saturday 16 May – 3pm
Sunday 17 May – 3pm
To book tickets to The Taming of the Shrew, please visit https://tasaonline.org.au/series/the-taming-of-the-shrew/.
Photographer: Maggie Morris
