Playwright: William Shakespeare
Cast: John Murphy, Essie Davis, Julie Shearer, James Hagan, Sean O'Shea, Anthony Johnsen [JOHNSEN OK], Duncan Wass, Gary Cooper, Christopher Stollery, Darren Gilshennan, Ross Sharp, Camilla Ah Kin, Simon Arlidge
Theatre: The Comedy
Company: John Bell Shakespeare Company
Synopsis: Seduction and intrigue reign as a woman of forceful character finds true love.
Rating: *****
Seldom are we treated to a production as energetic and entertaining as this John Bell Shakespeare Company's production of The Taming of the Shrew.
The trump card here is director John Bell's genius. Actors who turned in merely mediocre performances in the same company's Macbeth which opened recently, leap to greatness under Bell's guidance.
Bell wields a magic wand of talent and milks every moment of this rollicking tale for relevance and comic zest.
The Macbeth witches, for example, lacked menace and were eclipsed by their flashy, high-tech machines. But Macbeth witch Darren Gilshennan here plays Petruchio's servant, Grumio, with inspired command of his audience.
One of the company's leading women, Essie Davis, well remembered if you saw her powerful performance in Romeo and Juliet, also struggled against the lacklustre direction in Macbeth. Yet in Shrew, as the vituperous Katherina, she is an exquisite portrait of vicious bravado cloaking an inner softness.
As the swaggering Petruchio who seeks to make Katherina his wife, Christopher Stollery combines gruff charm and sex appeal. He has the strength of presence to keep even Darren Gilshennan's antics under control - which is no small tribute.
Julie Shearer is a suitably pouting Bianca, who pushes her sex kitten characterisation to the furthest possible point of pre-nausea. The comic cuts of her quarrelling suitors, Anthony Johnsen (Lucentio) and particularly Sean O'Shea (Hortensio), are neatly wrought.
Both the remarkably physical performance of Gary Cooper as servant Biondello, and an elegantly resourceful Duncan Wass as Lucentio's servant Tranio, warrant special mention.
In short, this production is a genuinely funny night out which will appeal to all ages.