REVIEWS

THE STAGE

The Taming of the Shrew, Friday 17th June 2011, by Jeremy Brien.

This rollicking farce rarely wins approval from feminists, so it is particularly interesting to ponder what they might make of this all-male, alfresco version.

The Gloucestershire-based Festival Players, now out on tour for the 26th successive summer, have a long all-male tradition, and director Michael Dyer uses the hustle and bustle, the wooing and the wedding, to distract from the more serious implications surrounding the mastering of a shrewish woman with, let’s not beat about the bush, violence.

Scott Smith underscores this approach with an affectionate delivery of a chastened Katharina’s ‘Whole Duty of Woman’ speech, by no means as tongue-in-cheek as is in some modern productions, while Paul Hampton is a confident but never over-aggressive Petruchio. So, as in most open-air Shakespeare, the psychology is rightly sidelined as the six-strong cast ride helter-skelter through just about the only Shakespeare comedy with a structured narrative.

One benefit for a company used to doubling and trebling is the number of rewarding roles away from the two main protagonists. Adam Trembath mixes a teasing Bianca with a decrepit suitor Gremio. Andrew Bowen-Jones is equally scheming as both the servant Tranio and the suitor Hortensio. Martin Tomms takes a delight in being put upon as both Baptista and Grumio, and American student intern Jeffrey Han has his moment as the pedant in the sub-plot.

And to complete the entertainment, there is as folksy score from Cotswold song-writer Johnny Coppin, and some nimble footwork in the dancing.

 

Production information:-

Composer: Johnny Coppin.

Cast: Scott Smith, Paul Hampton, Adam Trembath, Martin Tomms.

Director: Michael Dyer.

Design: Beth Tearle.

Costumes: Vanessa Bolton.