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RTE
Theatre Reviews
The Taming of the Shrew
Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Lynne Parker.
Starring Owen Roe, Pauline McLynn, Barry McGovern, Darragh
Kelly, Malcolm Adams, Arthur Riordan and Laura Forrest-Hay.
At the Project Arts Centre, Dublin until 25 March.
Transferring one of the Bard's most loved plays to rural Ireland
in the early 1970s was always going to provoke much interest
from theatre goers and academics alike.
Rough Magic Theatre Company score highly in creating an appropriate
set that is in keeping with a John B Keane or Tom Murphy play.
It could be a dance hall, a large lounge or some county council
chamber. Petruchio (Roe) could very well be the local politician,
who sets his sights on higher office, but in the meantime
manages a showband. He is aware of the fiery and temperamental
Katherina (McGlynn) daughter of the wealthy Baptista (McGovern),
who is keen to get Katherina married off before allowing available
suitors to seek out the younger Bianca (Kirby).
Petruchio knows that Katherina will receive a weighty inheritance
and is determined to take her hand in marriage. He also endeavours
to change her ways, to make her an obedient and manageable
wife. The breaking of this woman provides much comedy, with
Malcolm Adams as Grumio and Darragh Kelly providing genuinely
funny turns as Gremio and Grumio respectively.
Yet social commentators will reflect on women's position in
Irish society during the period in question. It's an Ireland
now long forgotten, with the grip of the church firmly broken.
Women no longer drink in snugs. It is, therefore, of interest
that Lynn Parker has chosen to set this interpretation of
'The Taming of the Shrew' in a time of limited opportunities
and repressed views. Thankfully, liberation for many and the
opening up of debate were only around the corner.
As a performance piece, Parker injects much energy into the
proceedings and the cast of Rough Magic veterans and relative
newcomers have a lot of fun along the way. The costumes are
loud and very much of the time in question, while the pot
of tea and ham sandwiches are as Irish as can be - a far cry
from the lavish banquet that dominated the wedding celebrations
in the Italian setting.
It's a pity that some Irish place names did not find their
way into the text. What fun it would have been for Petruchio
to go searching for his wife in Hackballscross!
Owen Roe cuts a commanding presence on stage, and while the
Shakespeare text may not flow that freely from his tongue,
he is nevertheless convincing. Less effective was Pauline
McGlynn, who displays far too many mannerisms from other performances.
Monica Frawley's set was impressive, while Cathal Synott's
musical accompaniment lends itself effortlessly to the proceedings.
An evening of entertainment to please most audiences, with
a little room left for some added mocking as one reflects
on a bygone era.
James McMahon
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What
the critics said:
“Richly
enjoyable… It’s a lot of fun, and the cast relishes
the pace and verve of [Lynne] Parker’s lucid staging”
Irish Times
“A wonderful evening… great clarity… great
fun… You will not see a better production of the play
than this”
The View, RTÉ
“This is a hugely entertaining and vivid production
that doesn’t shy away from its more unsettling themes.
A must-see”
Sunday Business Post
“The Taming of the Shrew is a wonderful comedy; but
at the hands of director Lynne Parker it's an extremely
dark one, full of subversion, bullying and greed…
Revisionism and deconstruction can often be disastrously
damaging to a play; in this case, it is inspired. The production
comes close to being faultless” Sunday Independent
“A vibrant and funny production… Owen Roe’s
Petruchio is a swaggering, Shakespearian Tony Soprano”
Village Magazine
“Shakespeare’s early comedy has seen countless
adaptations, but Rough Magic’s colourful production
set in 1970s rural Ireland may well be one of the most inspired…
a comic gem from start to finish”
Metro AM
“A very enjoyable piece of fast comedy performed with
great skill by a large cast… Owen Roe’s Petruchio
is a crafty combination of sadism and farcical humour, while
Barry McGovern’s Baptista, conscious of the value
of every penny, is a real pleasure to watch” Daily
Mail
“I loved it, I really loved it… I couldn’t
praise it more… Pauline McLynn has a traffic facility
with the language”
The View, RTÉ
“An evening of entertainment to please most audiences”
rte.ie
“Owen Roe [is] spectacularly magnificent as Petruchio…
Pauline McLynn is louche, dispirited and miserable as Katherine,
her misery traded for a calculated prosperity in marriage…
There are no weak performances in this ensemble but Malcolm
Adams as Grumio and Rory Keenan as Tranio stand out in particular…
Monica Frawley's set and costume designs are superlative”
Sunday Independent
“The power imbalances, slyly bawdy humour and grasping,
greedy motivations that fuel the fiery romance between Petruchio
(Owen Roe) and Katherina (Pauline McLynn) will come as no
surprise to anyone familiar with John B Keane’s work.
Roe, Barry McGovern, Malcolm Adams and Simone Kirby thrive
on the cultural juxtapositions”
Sunday Times
Sunday
Independent
March 12, 2006
THEATRE
Emer O' Kelly
The Taming of the Shrew
Projrct Arts Theatre
The
Taming of the Shrew is a wonderful comedy; but at the hands
of director Lynne Parker it's an extremely dark one, full
of subversion, bullying and greed. Women have always been
traded: it's called traditional marriage, where a woman
was sold off for a suitable dowry to be "protected"
(owned) by her husband. In Shakespeare's day, the sale was
more difficult if the woman had a reputation as a scold,
as in Katherine, daughter of the merchant Baptista of Padua.
For more than 300 years, it has been accepted that when
Pertruchio tames his shrew, she will at least enjoy the
pleasures of the marriage bed, and have an easier life through
submission. Lynne Parker and Rough Magic have changed all
that. Katherine may not achieve equality in 21st-century
terms by earning her living, but she does subvert the system,
wallowing in a cynical contentment of superiority as she
manipulates her blustering Pertruchio. This shrew has softened
her tongue, but only to suit herself.
The downside of it is her Pertruchio is no dashing blade,
determined to tame her only so that they may have blissful
congress between the sheets. He's a cattle dealer, and his
wife is his prime heifer. parker has set the play in Ireland
in the early sixties, and it's terrifyingly apposite.
Set in a bleak bar, and played in traverse, the men get
down to brass tacks: it's horse trading as Hortensio, Gremio
and the interlopers Lucentio and Tranio get down to bargaining,
spitting and bidding with Baptista for possession of his
daughters. And when Pertruchio finally calls at the end,
"So, kiss me Kate," to his now suitably obedient
wife, she knows, as we do, that he will sweat and grunt
as brutishly in their bed as he does with his cronies in
the bar. And the sweetly submissive Bianca metamorphoses
into a shrill termagant once she is possessed of a wedding
ring. Happy ending? Hardly.
Revisionism and deconstruction can often be disastrously
damaging to a play; in this case, it is inspired. The production
comes close to being faultless, with Owen Roe as spectacularly
magnificent as Petruchio as he was as Titus Andronicus for
Siren Productions only months ago. Pauline McGlynn is louche,
dispirited and miserable as Katherine, her misery traded
for a calculated prosperity in marriage, her performance
reminiscent of a previous Shakespeare role when she played
at the Abbey in Gerry Stembridge's inspired Comedy of Errors
set in Seventies showband territory.
There are no weak performances in thsi ensemble, but Malcolm
Adams as Grumio and Rory Keenan as Tranio stand out in particular.
Monica Frawley's set and costume designs are superlative,
with lighting by Rupert Murray. The original music is by
Cathal Synnott.
THE
SUNDAY BUSINESS POST.......the guide
THEATRE
The Taming of the Shrew
by William Shakespeare
Project Arts Centre, Dublin
Until March 25
Setting
a Shakespeare play in a linoleum-floored pub in 1950's Ireland
requires considerable verve, but this production has that
in spades. It draws out the play's bitter humour and dark
view of romance, oft-ignored elements in a story that has
inspired a million romantic comedies.
Katharina (Pauline McGlynn) is the elder of two sisters,
as renowned for her sharp tongue as her younger sister Bianca
(Simone Kirby) is for her beauty. Despite the clamouring
from Bianca's stable fo suitors, the sisters' father refuses
to let Bianca marry before Kate. Enetr Petruchio (Owen Roe),
a brash, drunken lout whose sly intelligence makes him Kate's
match in wit. Petruchio's underlying lust for poweris stealthily
exposed by Roe, whose imposing presence makes him terrifying
in the role.
The original plot-where Petruchio marries Kate and starves
her into submission- is not easily adaptable for modern
tastes, or so it appears. Only McGlynn's sarcastic turn
of phrase in the final scenes indicates that the balance
of power may not be quite what it seems.
This is an ensemble play, with the two leads anchoring rather
than dominating the action. They are supported by a brilliant
comedic cast who play out subplots awash in deception, drunkeness
and energetic lovemaking. Each performer takes advantage
of the ample opportunities for humour, though Malcolm Adams
is a chilling standout as Petruchio's sharp-tongued servant.
The humour is more than ribald, it's downright scatological,
though I won't ruin any of the punchlines by mentioning
them here - the element of surprise is all important.
The stark set, at floor level between an audience split
into halves, means the viewers are practically in the thick
of things. This layout can prove tricky, but here it added
to the raw immediacy of the action, making it feel like
a real family drama played out in the corner of a country
pub.
This is a hugely entertaining and vivid production that
doesn't shy away from its more unsettling themes. A must-see.
Rating:
****
Reviewed by Elizabeth McGuane
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