'...curst...for policy, For she's not froward, but modest as the dove; She is not hot, but temperate as the morn.'
And so she is! At least Jilly is, who's playing the lovely Kate. Here's her answer to my call for a female perspective on the play, the character of Kate and all related things. If anybody out there is playing Kate, this insight is well worth a read.
Kate's Blog
“Oh, you’re going to be tamed are you?” said friends when
they learnt I was to play Kate.
“NO! I
am NOT!” said I.
“But
isn’t that the story?” they asked whilst taking a step back.
Hmmm, time for me to explain perhaps.
There must be more to this taming thing. Why would
Shakespeare write something so crass and insulting to women when he was capable
of such beautiful love poetry and how could any audience possibly enjoy such a
misogynistic tale even allowing for the social differences between the 1500s
and now?
First, I reminded myself that this play was written as a
comedy. That could explain a lot, but not all. Kate and Petruchio display
bursts of temper and extreme cruelty which are hard to excuse, let alone to
laugh off. But the play is funny, so
what and who are we laughing at and why?
Janie, our Director had decided to use
the Commedia dell'Arte style of performance to influence the production; it’s an
old and very physical method of working involving masks, stock characters and
slapstick! This was going to be fun and I needed to get fit.
Janie also asked us if we thought this was a love story, and
I decided, immediately that it was ‘cos that’s the kind of girl I am. Plus,
like most of us, I like a happy ending! So, an early challenge was to establish
who this foul tempered Kate bitch really is and why Petruchio behaves like an
idiot and a bully? Most importantly, why would they fall in love? (Or is it
lust?)
In his blog, Rich (Petruchio) has mentioned the actors’ questions
which have formed the basis for the back stories which we’ve written for our characters.
Putting my thoughts into words meant I really had to dig out all the clues in
the text first and then combine them with my own experiences as a woman, real and imagined! The detailed nature of our back stories has
meant that we have been able to use our imaginations to unravel some of the
mysteries of what our characters are thinking and saying in a way that
hopefully explains this controversial and ambiguous play.
 |
| Kate bending an ear or four. |
Shakespeare’s language is tricky and perceptions of how
women should behave have changed over time so relating to Kate and her
situation has been a challenge and it’s fair to say that I’m still looking for
clues! Through the rehearsal process with
Janie and Rich, we have tried to find answers for most of those questions and I
hope, will be able to convey the story to a modern audience in a way that they
can understand and above all, enjoy.
Working with Michael Corbidge of the RSC has been such a
privilege and made me realise just how much I have to learn! His workshops have
been so packed full of information; how to unlock the text and in particular a
technique called “Actioning the lines” which is fascinating and will make me
look differently at every script from now on. Basically the process is one of
allocating a transitive verb (a doing word that can be done to someone else) to
each sentence, delivering it with one thought and one breath. For me, it’s
almost like magic and really helps the lines to be spoken in a way that sounds
natural, true and spontaneous – sorry, in danger of sounding completely up myself.
So, where was I?
I found that one of the hardest sections to make any sense
of, particularly for a modern audience is Kate’s speech at the very end of the
play. In it Kate tells women to obey their husbands. Her words appear to be in
complete contrast to her confrontational behaviour throughout the majority of
the play. On first sight she seems to have been crushed and oh dear me, even tamed.
What a disappointment – the audience has
been seriously short changed! Well no, actually, because once again there’s so
much more to it than that. Clever ol’ Shakespeare, he not only knew all about
the battle of the sexes but he also understood the human condition so
completely that he was able to make this a battle and a love story all in one;
an unconventional marriage maybe but between people of like minds and
ultimately, who show mutual respect. I believe that they each recognise their
own failings in the behaviour of the other and, actually, don’t need to carry
on like that anymore. All the anger and frustration that has built up over the
years is dissipated by their love and by their mischievous sense of humour.
Kate says in her final speech “Now I see our lances are but straws, our
strengths as weak”. In other words all the showing off and throwing their weight
around is rendered pointless and they can be happy with who they are.
Kate and Petruchio are two misfits. They get angry, behave
badly and get things wrong. These two truly complex characters were thrown
together, married less than a week later and their relationship should have
been doomed to failure. However, pretty quickly they begin to realise that they
are, infact, the same in many ways; kindred spirits who understand each other
and are a perfect, albeit slightly mad match. They have many layers to their
personalities and that’s what makes them human and so much fun to play.
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| Getting to grips with the text, the characters and the long grass. |
One final thought; who is the Shrew? Is it Kate or actually is
it Petruchio? In one version of the script “shrew” is defined as cantankerous person! So do either of them get tamed?
Absolutely not, that would be very dull!
Kate is not tamed, nor would any red blooded man want her to be. And hurray
for an unconventional and exciting hero who will spice things up in her life at
long last. Perhaps Kate and Petruchio’s real adventure begins once the play has
ended!
More from other cast members as the weeks progress towards the culmination of all this hard work, and thanks to Jilly for taking the time write for the blog.
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