The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 8.0977.  Tuesday, 30 September 1997.

[1]     From:   Helen Ostovich <
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        Date:   Monday, 29 Sep 1997 10:32:07 -0400 (EDT)
        Subj:   Re: SHK 8.0969  Re: Sly and Shrew

[2]     From:   Tanya Gough <
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        Date:   Monday, 29 Sep 1997 11:04:08 -0400
        Subj:   Stratford Shrew


[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Helen Ostovich <
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Date:           Monday, 29 Sep 1997 10:32:07 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: 8.0969  Re: Sly and Shrew
Comment:        Re: SHK 8.0969  Re: Sly and Shrew

Re Dave Skeele's question:  The Stratford Ontario production had no
redeeming features I could see, and the ending did indeed feel like a
slap in the face of any one in the audience who was trying to see if a
mind lurked behind the production concept.  As for Kate and Petruchio
being "really in love" in Act 5 -- nonsense!  I've rarely seen a _Shrew_
with less animal magnetism.  The production had no gender concepts at
all.

Helen Ostovich
Department of English / Editor, _REED Newsletter_
McMaster University

[2]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Tanya Gough <
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Date:           Monday, 29 Sep 1997 11:04:08 -0400
Subject:        Stratford Shrew

I only saw the Stratford "Taming of the Shrew" in dress rehearsal, but I
found the ending contrived and dissatisfying.  Tour bus crowd-pleaser
indeed.  The production made use of unnecessary slapstick and bizarre
group sequences for no apparent reason (they certainly didn't contribute
anything to my understanding of the production).  I also interpreted the
ending as a "set up," and was very dissatisfied.  Perhaps part of the
problem was that there was nothing prior to the "sell-out" to indicate
why or when Kate and Petruchio joined forces.  I also find the
implications of this version very disturbing, although the New York
Times reveled in the idea of sex-as-commerce (perhaps the director
heightened these elements after I saw it, for there were no real
indications of it before the ending).  I preferred the non-bardic
"Equus," "Death of a Salesman" and "Oedipus Rex" this year.

Incidentally, next year's schedule hasn't been announced yet, but for
the curious among you, here's part of the short list (as far as memory
serves): Winter's Tale, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Julius Caesar, Much
Ado, a revival of last year's Waiting for Godot, Moliere's The Miser,
Man of La Mancha.

Tanya Gough