Review: THE TAMING OF THE “SHREW”, Hope Mill Theatre

Photo credit: Shay Rowan

As the 2024 addition to their annual “Unseemly Shakespeare” series, HER Productions - in collaboration with Girl Gang Manchester - present William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew at the Hope Mill Theatre. HER Productions is a Manchester-based theatre company led by female theatre makers, who produce a variety of work: Shakespeare, published plays, new writing – each performed by an all-female and non-binary cast of performers.

Co-directed by Amy Gavin and Hannah Ellis Ryan, this rendition of The Taming of the “Shrew” is set in a burlesque club where the drunken Christopher Sly stumbles in and the ladies of the club, led by their Madam, perform a play for him. Audience members get the opportunity upon arrival to “upgrade” their seats and sit closer to the action with a seat within the club onstage, which turns the regular studio theatre space into a theatre-in-the-round. The dark space of this studio theatre is transformed into several different settings throughout the story through Tom Sutcliffe’s lighting design, with lights contrasting in various scenes but as a whole, blend together harmoniously to help maintain a flow from scene to scene.

Aside from the additional seating and cabaret tables around the edge of the stage, there is no real scenography and no pieces of set other than a pole dancing pole centre stage with a small circular raised platform beneath it. Whilst it does make sense to the presence of the pole for the burlesque club setting, it doesn’t seem to add to the performance. Of course, that does not diminish the skills of performers Mia Gibson and Leah Eddleston, who showcase their pole dancing talents at some parts of the production, but the pole could have potentially been utilised more cleverly, especially as it is placed so prominently in the centre of all the onstage action.

Costume and styling designs for this production come from the creative mind of Zoey Barnes, which really leans into a raunchy alternative burlesque look. The lingerie outfits of the cast have then been layered with a mixture of more classic articles of clothing one would expect in a traditional Shakespearean play, as well as more unconventional garments to support the notion of this being an unplanned performance within the burlesque club, using whatever accessories they have around from their usual performances.

Together, this cast bring a fierce female energy to Shakespeare’s work, and it is enthralling to watch each and every one of them. The performers that steal the show though are Shady Murphy and Emily Spowage as Katherina and Petruchio respectively. These two both have phenomenal stage presence and portray these complex characters excellently, their voices both suiting the Shakespearean language brilliantly.

With a fiercely exciting production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, the team at HER productions are a force to be reckoned with after adding this formidable show to it’s “Unseemly Shakespeare” series.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Jess Dalloway

The Taming of the “Shrew” plays at Hope Mill Theatre until 30 June, with further info here.