The Taming of the Shrew

There are only a few plays by William Shakespeare that I have not seen, so that when one of them opens, I try to go. Over the last few years these have included Titus Andronicus and The Comedy of Errors. So when the The Taming of the Shrew opened at Stratford, I booked straight away. It turned out to be one of the best productions of any play I have ever seen. I have to agree with the critic from the Sunday Times who called it "a performance of such unrestrained energy and bravura" and with "the mayhem meticulously choreographed".

All this was necessary for what is a pretty stupid and chauvinistic plot. But who cares when the players arrive out of the back of a lorry and are tipped out onto the Courtyards huge thrust stage and rush to accost all of the surrounding audience. When you are in the third row, like I was, and on an isle, there is so much action that takes place a few feet away, actors dash by you and even land in the lap of the man in front of me, who was then hauled onto the stage. Yes, it is all mayhem, but beautifully staged and acted.

All this is down to the director, Conall Morrison, and a young cast headed by Michelle Gomez and Stephen Boxer. Every character was larger than life, whether using a regional accent or not. Typical of this great acting was Jack Laskey as Biondello. In a smallish part as Lucentio's servant, he lit the stage with personality. The Sunday Times gave the production four stars, I give it five.