Last year I participated in an Independent production of The Taming of the Shrew in Sydney,

created by the Playwrought Project.

 

This production asked what if the world of the play was a matriarchy?

 

The answers to that question were fascinating. Several things particularly interested me. Firstly,the utterly ridiculous comedy of the piece re-emerged, having frequently been overtaken by the complicated sexual politics of the modern era with a plethora of productions attempting to ‘solve the play’. Secondly, a female Petruchia seeks less to prevail than to forge an equal alliance with a worthy partner - at least in this production - though her methods remain problematic!

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Finally, the canon offers a vast array of tasty roles for male-identifying actors whilst the really

exciting stuff that female-identifying actors can enjoy and test themselves against is very sparse. I delight in providing this challenge to all my actors.

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I sought to explore these questions further with Lakespeare - by re-editing the text and exploring how outdoor and indoor itinerant performance might open up further possibilities. It has been a joy and a privilege to work with this wonderful Canberran company again and this brave and crazy group of actors.

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Karen Vickery