Kiss Me Kate

It was quite a number of years since I last saw Kiss Me Kate, so I looked forward to this production at Theatre by the Lake and I wasn’t disappointed. The two main characters Lilli Vanessi / Katherine and Fred Graham / Petruchio, were brilliantly portrayed by Jenni Thornton and James Hutchinson. Both their singing and acting were a joy, the well known songs particularly the ‘Wunderbar’ duet were excellent. The interplay between the two was very convincing and their professionalism shone through.

There was also good performances from Heather Bradshaw as Lois Lane / Bianca and Tom Kitching as Bill Calhoun / Lucentio and Chris Briggs and Neil Airey as the Hoodlums  present to collect a debt from Graham that he didn’t owe. I enjoyed their ‘Brush up your Shakespeare ‘, boy did they milk it for all it was worth??!!. All the minor leads were well performed, and the chorus ensembles were lively.

The orchestra were very good, costumes made by members were excellent and the lighting was in keeping with the plot. The set, designed by society stalwart Neil Airey, was minimal, but very effective, and changes were very quick

Two small criticisms would be, and neither to do with the performing company!!. The sound was erratic at times, the company deserved better, particularly as it was run by the theatre staff and the songs were very very long, and were very repetitive. Consequently there was a rather late finish.

On balance this was a very good production from Chris  Briggs and the company, and it was good to see a good house for the opening performance. Well done to everyone concerned.

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