The Taming of the Shrew

[mcjulie]

Thursday night, Paul and I saw the Seattle Shakespeare Company’s production of The Taming of the Shrew. The production is mostly great (especially Kelly Kitchens as a tough biker chic Kate) and the rednecky, rural southern trailer park setting works extremely well. The down-n-dirty vibe fits the lowbrow material much better than the sumptuous

Comments

[tinaconnolly]

I like that interpretation! I remember also liking what they did with the recent BBC Shakespeare Retold, but I don't remember specifics on it at the moment. I remember even though they updated all the language, they kept the full-on challenging monologue at the end. But somehow it managed to be more about both parties being committed to a marriage, contrasted against the thinks-nothing-of-divorce Bianca they created. (Baby brain eats holes in everything - I'd have to watch it again ....)

[mcjulie]

That series looks interesting! I'll have to check it out.

[pocochina]

The Taming of the Shrew is the 50 Shades of Grey of Elizabethan England.

WHOA. And yes! But mostly whoa!

[mcjulie]

I do have to confess, I haven't read more than a few excerpts from 50 Shades... I downloaded the sample to my e-reader, read the first 20 pages or so, though, yup, that's as bad as I thought, and gave up.

[red_satin_doll]

*nods* Basically it's about Stockholm Syndrome as a romantic trope.

Having a mother instead of a father give away Kate doesn't really blunt the "misogyny/patriarchial" aspects; it actually is a clever switch in that it emphasizes that patriarchy isn't about "men vs women". It's a paradigm of thought and behavior that women have supported for centuries. If we didn't, the entire thing might fall about. (i.e. Lysistrata) It's internalized misogyny.

[mcjulie]

It's a paradigm of thought and behavior that women have supported for centuries.

Good point! I was comparing it to my reaction to the 1967 movie -- but I think I simply liked this actress as her mom better than whoever played her dad in the movie.

[red_satin_doll]

I was comparing it to my reaction to the 1967 movie -- but I think I simply liked this actress as her mom better than whoever played her dad in the movie.

Oh that's fair! I haven't seen the movie (I've read it and seen a british stage version on PBS years ago, which actually made the fact that Kate was being teased and starved that much more real to me). But I've certainly reacted that way to actors at various times.

[seventorches]

Can I share this? I have a few friends who will really appreciate it.

[mcjulie]

By all means!

The Taming of the Shrew: BEST INTERPRETATION EVAR

[livejournal]

User seventorches referenced to your post from The Taming of the Shrew: BEST INTERPRETATION EVAR saying: [...] is spot-on. -------------------------------------- Originally posted by at The Taming of the Shrew [...]