The Taming of the Shrew (Open Air)

The Taming of the Shrew has undergone a considerable reappraisal in the last couple of decades. While in the 60s and 70s it was derided by feminists as a play about subjugating feminity and the female spirit, it is now looked at far more sympathetically and is seen as a play in which two people find each other and fall in love.

Rachel Kavanaugh’s excellent production, set in a 1940s Italy, is one of the most romantic interpretations I have seen. I did wonder whether post-Mussolini’s Italy was quite the right place to draw attention to the nature of Petruchio’s taming of Katherine, with its dependence on sleep and food deprivation; but such dark thoughts are swept aside with the exuberance of Kavanaugh’s production. This is not a play about subjugation but about a couple finding the solace of mutual love: Petruchio and Katherine are kindred spirits to Beatrice and Benedick, as two people railing against the world.

The key strength is John Hodgkinson’s droll Petruchio. Here is no wily fortune-hunter, nor swaggering, macho braggart – but someone who finds himself caught up in adventure, having to improvise wildly, and although initially tempted by the rich dowry that marrying Katherine will bring him, the money becomes secondary.

And he’s well-matched by Sirine Saba’s Katherine; not so much a shrew but an unhappy young woman shunned by her father and ill-at-ease in her own family. She eventually feels liberated by Petruchio’s treatment of her. When they have their argument as to whether it’s the sun or moon that’s shining, it’s Petruchio who prostrates himself at her feet and is she who raises her arms in triumph at her acquiescence: the image of a young woman finding happiness for the first time.

The action moves at a frantic pace (the rather ponderous opening Christopher Sly scene has been cut) with David Partridge’s Tranio and Dominic March’s Lucentio working their trickery perfectly. Timothy Kightley’s Baptista is no despairing father, desperate to get rid of his daughters, but a tough businessman who sees financial opportunity in an advantageous marriage.

Kit Surrey’s stylish design beautifully captures the essence of a provincial Italian city. It’s a shame that we didn’t have some Mediterranean weather to match the setting, but this is a good start to Regent’s Park summer season.

– Maxwell Cooter