Beth Aubrey, Emily Brennan, Jeanette Cronin, Vanessa Downing, Judi Farr, Sandy Gore, Luisa Hastings Edge, Anna Houston, Ksenja Logos, Lotte St Clair and Wendy Strehlow join forces in a new gender-twisting production of The Taming Of The Shrew that sees women playing men, dressed as men in conflict with women playing women, dressed as women.
In tackling what is often labeled Shakespeare’s most chauvinistic play, the politics of marriage are under the microscope in this comical look at the dubious sexual politics of Kate and Petruchio’s Padua.
Is Petruchio nothing more than a vain, uncaring, greedy chauvinist who treats marriage as an act of domination and attempts to train his wife as he would a hawk?
Is Kate a spirited woman who is cowed into abject submission by the violence of a blatant bully? Does Kate start out as an independent and vital woman, only to become a Stepford wife?
"By this reckoning he is more shrew than she."
Contemporary audiences can determine if they will rescue Shakespeare and Petruchio from the charge of male chauvinism and accept that The Taming Of The Shrew is the tale of two eccentric rebels who must fight and challenge each other before they will admit to being deeply kindred spirits.
Jeanette Cronin, who received a Sydney Theatre Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for 'Holding The Man', is in the blue corner as the mercurial and witty Petruchio.
Lotte St Clair – 'Homebody/Kabul' for B Sharp at Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company’s 'Macbeth' and 'All Saints' – is in the red corner as the challenger, Kate, in this fast and fiery examination of the psychology of relationships.
As befits one of Shakespeare's most outrageous comedies, this production turns it on its head with an all-female cast, given the play is about taming 'wild women', and that in Shakespeare's day, it would have been an all-male cast.
It's taking the politics of marriage and gender roles to new levels with energy, humour and a drag king sensibility - and not pulling any punches! And neither should it.
"The performances are delightful, delicious, precocious and, in short, bloody-well brill." Lloyd Bradford - Australian Stage.
"I was absolutely mesmerised, if a little disconcerted, by the completely committed performances of the women as men. The women as women held their own too. Jeanette Cronin as Petruchio brought a force of energy to the stage with every scene. Her animated face, loose swagger, shaggy hair cut and slim fit pants were all uncannily reminiscent of Mick Jagger." - Winsome Denyer ABC.
The Bell company is renowned for making Shakespeare’s language approachable to modern audiences and Potts has gone one step further and set the Shrew in a modern locale. "It’s set in a club, almost like an RSL club; it’s sort of set up as a wedding venue centre," Cronin said.
Frankston Arts Centre. Tuesday September 8th at 8pm and Wednesday September 9th at 1pm and 8pm.
Tickets: Adults $47 Conc $42 U26 $26 Mationee $42 Group 10+ $40 each
03) 9684 1060 for tickets
www.artscentre.frankston,vic,gov.au
