The Taming of the Shrew

Shakespeare, for many, leads to reminiscence of those long hot Friday afternoons in hazy English classes waiting for the clock to tick down to 3:45 and desperately trying to understand a peculiar tongue where almost all the words are familiar but their vernacular is not. This is exactly where I learned that the true understanding is in the live delivery and while cutting my teeth on the ‘Scottish’ play this early offering is one of my favourite works by the bard, having seen it live in my teens.

The Taming of the Shew is certainly full of enough comedy to lighten even the most dry book study and Angela Reid’s production certainly capitalised on the comedic favours therein. Given the stated importance of the delivery in connecting with a Shakespeare audience, she was also gifted with a cast that not only rose to the challenge but were more than equal to it. From the shortened self-penned introduction delivered by Ian Henham as a delightfully ignoble Grumio, through to Mary Matson’s subjugated Seamstress, the final cameo to appear, each player delivered a committed and extant performance with projection perfectly suited to this outdoor performance.

A mixture of the text and the exemplary deliveries ensured that the perfectly cast Sharon Key-Barry and Graeme Muncer stood out, just a hair, from the company in the roles of Katherina and Petruchio, maintaining wonderfully expressive characters throughout and carrying the comedy with the requisite irreverence exquisitely. Certainly the entire cast offered a delightfully contemporary performance that belied the beautiful period costumes by Lyn Fryer and her team and Rosemary Nice and Alan Harrison’s lovely set. The modern ethos was sublimely emphasised by the addition of the ‘Katherinettes’, a talented vocal harmony troupe described by the director as a ‘Motown Greek Chorus’ and lead by Jane Haines. Perhaps a modernisation too far for the purists, but in my book a terrific augmentation to the ambience that I think the bard would have enjoyed and approved of, given the accessibility lift it delivered; punctuating with a light relief that supported the plot. I roared with laughter as Katherine was bound and stretchered off to the 1965 classic stanzas of ‘Nowhere to Run To, Nowhere to Hide…’

Henfield Theatre Company is one that needn’t run nor hide from tackling any theatrical classic and this was an unqualified success that hit their audience head on and provided another excellent evening of, open air, entertainment. Bravo!

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