Australian audiences will be treated to a talented ensemble of actors in Marion Potts’ not-so-classic, all-female take on Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy The Taming of the Shrew, presented by Bell Shakespeare Company.
This new gender-twisting production sees women playing men, dressed as men in conflict with women playing women, dressed as women (phew!)
In tackling what is often labelled Shakespeare’s most chauvinistic play, the politics of marriage are under the microscope in this comical look at the dubious sexual politics of Kate and Petruchio’s Padua.
Is Petruchio nothing more than a vain, uncaring, greedy chauvinist who treats marriage as an act of domination and attempts to train his wife as he would a hawk? Is Kate a spirited woman who is cowed into abject submission by the violence of a blatant bully? Does Kate start out as an independent and vital woman, only to become a Stepford wife?
The Taming of the Shrew is the tale of two eccentric rebels who must fight and challenge each other before they will admit to being deeply kindred spirits.
Jeanette Cronin (who received a Sydney Theatre Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Holding the Man) is in the blue corner as the mercurial and witty Petruchio.
Lotte St Clair (Homebody/Kabul, Macbeth and All Saints) is in the red corner as the challenger, Kate. Both are ably supported by a bevy of talented and acclaimed actresses (including Sandy Gore) in this fast and fiery examination of the psychology of relationships.
WHAT: The Taming of the Shrew
WHEN: 6 – 17 October
WHERE: The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre
BOOKINGS: 02 6275 2700
or canberratheatre centre.com.au
