Taming of the Shrew...
Being an uncultured, knuckle-dragging troglodyte with no sense of how his own life fits into the grand scheme of history has the unexpected advantage that I can still see Shakespeare plays without knowing a priori how they are going to end. Tonight I spent a very pleasant evening sitting on the grass at the open-air theatre in Rowntree Park enjoying a picnic in good company watching the above-mentioned Bardic work.
The performance was polished and it's impressive how many of the jokes are still funny 400 years after they were penned, but I did find myself a little disappointed at how easily the 'shrew' was tamed, and bemused at how readily Baptista accepts the fact he has been lied to and deceived into allowing Bianca to marry someone who is, to him, a complete stranger.
Anyway, the pervading moral of the story seems to be: Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen.
The performance was polished and it's impressive how many of the jokes are still funny 400 years after they were penned, but I did find myself a little disappointed at how easily the 'shrew' was tamed, and bemused at how readily Baptista accepts the fact he has been lied to and deceived into allowing Bianca to marry someone who is, to him, a complete stranger.
Anyway, the pervading moral of the story seems to be: Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen.