The Taming Of The Shrew - Review

Barbican Theatre, London


***


Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Justin Audibert 

Claire Price and Joseph Arkley

The RSC continues their inclusive season with a gender-swapped production of The Taming of the Shrew that goes some way to highlight and parody just how messed up and old fashioned this play of an absurd and abusive patriarchy really is. All too self-aware but still imperfect, this production is nonetheless perfectly timed for a Handmaiden’s Tale world, with director Justin Audibert’s innovative inspiration shining through.

So it goes Baptista Minola announces to  all of Padua that no one shall marry her much-desired son Bianco (a flamboyant James Clooney) until her outspoken, outburst-prone shrew of a son Katherine (Joseph Arkley) is married off. With an array of overtly keen suitors vying for a chance at Bianco’s hand, fortune seeker Petruchia soon finds herself well paid for her wooing services in a bid to pin down, and tame, the elusive Katherine. 

Joseph Arkley clearly relishes this opportunity to reap the irony of his lines, unchanged but for the pronouns. He plays the role many a feminist critic would deem to be “where we are heading”, starved and mentally tortured into losing all his traditionally male qualities by Claire Price’s, Petruchia. It is interesting to note that while most male performers took the opportunity to play a traditionally female character by camping it up, Arkley as the exception, Price’s Petruchia is the only masculine played traditionally male character. There are many an example of when it really shouldn’t have been funny but absolutely is, such as with Sophie Stanton’s Gremia’s lustfulness. If an older male character had practically drooled whenever he thought of a young woman, it would have been the opposite of charming. Stanton’s sight gags are the comic relief in a play laden with it, with Gremia echoing Mars Attacks’ lady spy alien silently floating across the stage to much audience guffaw. 

But while undoubtedly thought-provoking, Audibert's production fails to hit the mark, unable to shake off its other-worldliness. There remains a pervading sense that the characters just aren’t quite right and this in turn prevents our disbelief from being truly suspended. Nonetheless it remains an undoubtedly stimulating evening and well worth a visit, if only to witness the script re-imagined and reinterpreted - a pleasing rarity.

Runs until 18th January 2020

Reviewed by Heather Deacon

Photo credit: Ikin Yum

As You Like It - Review

Barbican Theatre, London


****


Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Kimberley Sykes

Lucy Phelps

The first of three new Royal Shakespeare Company productions kicks off this week with a delightful and especially woke performance of gender-bending romantic comedy As You Like It. Director Kimberley Sykes embraces the playful text with a diverse and tuneful cast so at ease with the text that off-the-cuff moments and audience interaction are plentiful.

The story goes that Duke Senior is exiled to the Forest of Arden by his usurper brother, Duke Frederick. Senior’s daughter, Rosalind, stays behind thanks to her bond with Frederick’s daughter, Celia… that is before Frederick flips out and banishes her after all. Celia joins her, as does their fool Touchstone, but not before disguising themselves. Rosalind becomes Ganymede, the brother to Aliena, Celia’s disguise. Throw in Rosalind’s love Orlando also escaping to the forest to avoid further persecution by his brother, Oliver... farce doth ensue.

Lucy Phelps is farce-in-chief as Rosalind/Ganymede, a bundle of eccentricity and energy as she encourages Orlando to prove his love to Rosalind by wooing Ganymede, all the while struggling to maintain her guise. David Ajao is a brawny Orlando, as passionate as any lovesick youth would be, with a dash of the jovial cheek ( a common youthful trait ) . The infamous melancholy Jacques, who’s gifted many of the play’s most quoted gems, from “All the world’s a stage” to “A fool! A fool! I met a fool in the forest!” is played with the perfect amount of wise whimsy by Sophie Stanton. Antony Byrne as both Dukes is another absolute tour de force as are Emily Johnstone’s beautiful vocals as Amiens and Le Beau.

The diverse cast of eighteen reflects not only age and race but also disabilities, to say nothing of a range of accents that seems to reflect nearly all of the British Isles. It’s a gorgeous way of presenting one of the Bard’s most quoted plays, adding a depth not often achieved in productions drawn from received pronunciation. 

The wooden staging seems sparse for most of the first half, with just a patch of grass and a balcony to set the scene, but is soon becomes more of a forest setting. Scenic designer Stephen Brimson Lewis puts his biggest creative stamp on it however in a collaboration with puppetry designer Mervyn Millar producing a disconcertingly overbearing giant puppet of the Goddess Hymen for the final scene.

This is an appropriately enjoyable and charming production of one of Shakespeare’s most loved plays. Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy coming up in the next few weeks.

In repertory at the Barbican until 18 January 2020, then on tour

Reviewed by Heather Deacon

Photo credit: Topher McGrillis

Made In Dagenham - Review

Adelphi Theatre, London

****

Music by David Arnold

Lyrics by Richard Thomas

Book by Richard Bean

Directed by Rupert Goold

Gemma Arterton and company

Made in Dagenham, the musical based on the hit film of the same name, takes this true story to a new level. A bluntly comedic book by Richard Bean is the backbone of this hearty British extravaganza, with the stage version packing a punch, far mightier and steeped in laughs than the movie. Rupert Goold’s direction is tight and full of energy throughout with the production being as bold as brass, unapologetically crude and yet wonderfully uplifting.

Bunnie Christie’s stunning set and costume design is adorned with huge over sized letters from the title that hang as a reminder to the roots of the play in Dagenham. Metallic walls of car-parts divide the stage, whilst a ring of oily gearboxes mechanically and monotonously revolve with a gentle drone above the opening scene.

Gemma Arterton stars as the Ford factory worker Rita O’Grady, who fights for equal pay for women when the factory girls learn that their jobs are being downgraded to ‘unskilled’. Arterton shines as an authentically British turn, notably in Everybody Out, a brilliantly upbeat number. 

Elsewhere a top-notch cast bring the nuances of their relatable characters into glorious relief. Sophie Stanton’s Beryl in particular, a loveably burly potty mouth brings the house down consistently from start to finish, though Richard Thomas’ sentimental lyrics in Letters fall short of the emotional plea that is needed from Rita’s husband Eddie O’Grady (Adrian der Gregorian) as he takes their children and leaves his wife, who has been overtaken by her political charge. The obvious "Dad cooked us chips on toast" line wears a bit thin.

In taking on Westminster as well as east London’s Dagenham, the show delivers cracking characterisations of Harold Wilson and Barbara Castle. Mark Hadfield is a superb bloated comic sleeze, constantly suggestively sucking on his pipe and delivering some superb one liners to punctuate the action. Cabinet minister Castle is played by the coiffured and charismatic Sophie Louise-Dann. Poised and sparky, the ever excellent Dann belts as required with a beautiful delivery.

Made In Dagenham is a fabulous show about history politics and passion that takes an inspiring tale of human endeavour and sets it to glorious songs and performances. The show is also wonderful proof, amidst a flurry of Broadway imports into the West End, that quality musicals continue to be made in Britain.

Now booking until 2015 - Tickets available from www.officialtheatre.com

Guest reviewer - Lauren Gauge