THE second offering in
Emma Rice’s inaugural season as artistic director at the Globe is
The Taming Of the Shrew.
Directed by Caroline
Byrne it features an all Irish cast who take on Shakespeare’s
“problem play” head on.
It is a spirited
production which is set against the backdrop of the 1916 Easter
Rising, when demands for equal status for women were being made. The
fact that these demands were subsequently ignored gives the
historical context and highlights the brutal "taming" of
Katherine by her husband.
Aoife Duffin, who
stepped in at the last minute to play Katherine, does a wonderful job
in showing her defiance, pain, and strong character. This is a woman
who is at first strong, independent, spirited, angry and up for a
fight and rails against those who would tame her.
But over the course of
the play she shows how worn down she becomes, physically, mentally
and emotionally by the relentless onslaught of Edward MacLiam's
Petruchio to whom she is forced to marry.
By the end of the play
she is a shadow of her former self and her humiliation is devastating
to watch.
Despite this Petruchio
shows at times a softer side, almost as though he just wants to love
her and not demean her.
It is an incredible
production, gripping and intense and full of themes that will
resonate today - equality, domestic abuse and sexism.
And although Kate's
final speech is devastating in that we see how much she and her
spirit have been crushed, it is tinged with a ray of hope and a
message of how we should carry on the fight for equality and against
domestic abuse.
Taming Of The Shrew is
on at Shakespeare’s Globe until August 6. Tickets from £5. Visit
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/ or call the box office on 020 7401
9919 for full listings.
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