The Taming of the Shrew

This production does for The Shrew what Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" did for that play: it makes clear the central meaning of the piece. By stripping away the usual thigh-thwacking, twinkle-in-the-eye, campy, vaudevillian action usually associated with this work, wherein the headstrong Katherine is brought into submission by the charming rogue Petruchio, we are able to see clearly what Petruchio's approach is: he shows Katherine her own behavior in reflection. Petruchio is holding up the mirror for her, showing her that she is the prisoner of her own negative emotions. And who would take the time, make the effort to do such work, if they did not care for the person in question? This Katherine and Petruchio are not combatants, they are soul-mates defining their understanding of each other. At their first meeting it is clear that Kate has never had a man of such wit and character endure her raging, out of desire for her; and in the end we see that Katherine is not broken (the famous last speech), but that at last she has stopped thinking only of herself, and gained insight and compassion for others. I've seen a lot of versions of this play (including Burton & Taylor, Julia & Streep, & Singer & Olster), and this is the most adult, the most understanding, the most human. And the funniest.

I recently studied this play in Brit Lit, and I definitely think that even though this version might be a little slower than the Zefferelli version, it is better. The Zefferelli version reverts back to the physical, cheap humor that Shakespeare obviously steers clear of, because in his day there were a number of those kinds of plays out there, but they were cheap, superficial plays. Also, Zefferelli leaves out the falcon soliloquey. I think that John Cleese is just a genius with comedy, and I am also a big fan of Frank Thorton. Besides that, I think that the makers of this film understood the real themes of Taming, and tried to portray them in the movie, as opposed to Zefferelli, who added extraneous things to make it more "amusing", but thus led it further away from Shakespeare's true meaning.

Miller's production of Taming of the Shrew had a shortcoming it shared with many of the other BBC Shakespeare series productions; It was produced as a theatrical piece and not as video/film. This was more than offset, however, by the brilliant performance of John Cleese as Petruchio. Cleese played Kate's suitor with an understated, british style that at once illuminated the bard's words and drew a direct line between Shakespeare and Monty Python. Listen to him trail off on his 'Think you a little din can daunt my ears' speech and you will understand that humor has not really changed in 400 years.

The simple truth about Shakespeare's plays - especially the comedies - is that they can be delightful beyond one's wildest imagination. I consider Much Ado About Nothing to be by far one of the most pleasant comedies of Shakespeare, but upon watching The Taming of the Shrew, I come to realize that it, when well produced, can be just as wondrous. The wisdom and humor contained in a play by the Bard are nigh-infinite, if only we have the eyes to see it.

Having said that, this classic BBC production may indeed be classic, but apart from John Cleese it is fairly pedestrian. The delight, for me, comes from the words rather than the stage production, and then, of course, from John Cleese. I had my doubts about him when I heard he was in a "serious" Shakespeare play, but the second I saw him my doubts evaporated. He carries this show, being easily the best thing about it, and it should be obvious to all that Shakespeare and John Cleese is a match made in heaven - a mad mating, to use a pun from the play! One is grief-stricken that Cleese did not go into Shakespeare acting as a full career; woe is we who have spent our lives lacking a comedic giant such as Cleese in the Shakespearean art form!

In short: Cleese is superb, utterly and completely. The rest of the production is adequate, but Cleese absolutely steals the show.

My rating: about 6-ish for the rest of the production, with two points added for Cleese's brilliant performance, coming to an 8 out of 10.

If you want a slapstick, obvious "Shrew," don't waste time, go directly to Zeffirelli's overstuffed, overdecorated jamboree of shtick. OTOH, this production is actually about people, who they are and why they act that way. The cast here may be less star-studded than the other version, but is uniformly funny and very much worth watching.

Director Jonathan Miller brings his background as a neurologist into play here to make sure that the characters are not mere eccentric puppets, but are psychologically well-grounded. Sarah Badel gets the palm as Katherina. She doesn't just play the anger and violence of sibling rivalry, she also shows the pain and bewilderment of living in a world where everybody loves her sister more. John Cleese starts off uncertainly, underplaying the verse and slow to abandon Basil Fawlty's tics as he establishes the character of Petruchio, but later he grows in the part and is quite warm and human by the end. In fact, the whole play closes with much greater love and humanity than usual.

The rest of the cast is never bad, and occasionally quite brilliant. Anthony Pedley's Tranio is beautifully done, as is John Franklyn Robbins' Baptista, and Frank Thornton's Gremio leaves "Are You Being Served?" completely behind. Jonathan Cecil knows that he has a funny face and tries a little hard, but his Hortensio never breaks context with the rest of the play. Sharp-eyed viewers will recognize Angus Lennie (Mole in "The Great Escape"), Joan Hickson (Miss Marple) and John Bird ("Barnaby Spoot and the Exploding Whoopee Cushion").

The beautiful but spare decor is BBC Old Masters. There are some bewildering moments when a Vermeer room is invaded by riotous brawling, but that's probably a good thing. Occasionally a gag misfires, for as Groucho says, "All the jokes can't be good." But the overall impression is very positive. Altogether recommendable.