Taming of the ‘Shrew’ – HOME Mcr

HER Productions can be commended for taking on what they describe as one of Shakespeare’s most polarising comedies as there is so much more to it than its title suggests, the key to which is its sadly often-omitted Induction when drunken tinker Christopher Sly (Ciara Tansey) is conned by the Hostess (Megan Holland) into believing he is a lord and about to watch a play; it is this ‘play-within-a-play’ that becomes the rest of The Taming of the Shrew.

Young noble, Lucentio (Mia Gibson) arrives in Padua to study, much to the chagrin of servant, Tranio (Leah Eddleston). As he quickly falls in love with Bianca (Hope Yolanda), the beautiful younger daughter of wealthy Baptista Minola (Jakki Moore), there is stiff competition from the aged Gremio (Sarah Legg) and younger Hortensio (Nicole Keri). Baptista has made it clear that a husband must first be found for older daughter Katherina (Shady Murphy), and so the suitors hatch a plan with help arriving in the form of Petruchio (Emily Spowage) and his trusty servant Grumio (Naomi Albans). Lucentio then decides he needs a plan of his own to outwit the competition and secure Bianca’s hand, but the problem with plans is they unravel when you least expect it – like when your father, Vincentio (Oceana Cage) turns up unannounced.

There is a misguided unpopularity about this play which deserves to be challenged but unfortunately directors Amy Gavin and Hannah Ellis Ryan have sidestepped this, resorting to type, and choosing to adopt a more confrontational approach.

The use of a modern day ‘cabaret’ bar and an all-female non-binary cast are to be welcomed – the play is after all meant to be farcical and fantastic in equal measure – but the end product gets somewhat waylaid by its focus on gender politics and at times appears a grotesque parody objectifying female sexuality which I am sure was not the intention. It’s a shame because the main body of the work – the Shakespeare bit – is on the whole delivered quite well.

The staging is kept simple, but I would have preferred the provocative pole from the opening scene that was retained front and centre of the stage to have orchestrated the ensuing action rather than just be used for the occasional and often unnecessary pole dancing.

 The musical interludes as a carry over from the opening club scene were an unnecessary distraction to the flow of the main play and clearly designed to foster audience engagement which shouldn’t be relied upon: when you have to prompt the applause then there is something wrong. Breaking the fourth wall is fine if it supports the action on stage but that was less the case here and a timely reminder that you may not always get the answer you’re hoping for.

There were some good combinations, notably Gibson/Eddleston and Spowage/Murphy/Albans, with good support from other members of the cast with special mention for Legg and Moore, and I certainly look forward to seeing future work.

In our ‘modern age’ there are still cultures that subjugate women into marriage and worse and so whilst I would welcome an intelligent and energetic production to shine a light on such matters – isn’t that what dark humour is for – tonight seemed more about taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut and missing: yes, the audience were amused at times but I’m not sure they were left with much food for thought.

Reviewer: Mark Davoren

Reviewed 29^th May 2025

North West End UK Rating: