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The Taming of the Shew (RSC Live from Stratford-upon-Avon @ Broadway Cinema

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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

Writing about web page http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/the-taming-of-the-shrew/ 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 …

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 …

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 …

Before the Bardathon

As we enter the final week of my year-long project, I’m going to be posting a few retrospective entries in addition to the final couple of reviews. First up, I thought for interest I’d mention my PREVIOUS Shakespeare theatre-going. I haven’t been attending the theatre as long as many people think. Being a Northerner born-and-bred, …

The Taming Of The Shrew (Propeller) @ The Courtyard Theatre

Yet another transport problem last night, as the line between Hatton and Stratford caused our train to be delayed by over half an hour. Thankfully we still managed to get in for the first line of the play, so didn’t miss anything apart from milling around in the foyer for a while! Propeller, tonight’s visiting …