BBC's Television Shakespeare productions running between 1978 and 1985 is mostly most worthwhile and really fascinating, for the opportunity to see every one of Shakespeare's (one of the greatest, important and influential playwrights who ever lived) plays performed as one big project the BBC Television Shakespeare series is a must. Some productions are better than others, limitations in staging and budget showing in some, but seeing Shakespeare mostly being faithfully adapted with talented casts are other reasons as to why the series is a must.
'The Taming of the Shrew', may not be one of my favourite Shakespeare plays and it is one of his most controversial plays with criticisms of it being misogynistic. It does nonetheless entertain and charm, with Petruchio and Kate being memorably drawn (don't always find Bianca and Lucentio as interesting as characters) and Shakespeare's mastery of language still remains. This is a great production of it, and one of the 'The Taming of the Shrews' seen, more to see, it's one of the better ones. The others being the very well done Richard Burton/Elizabeth Taylor film, the uneven Douglas Fairbanks/Mary Pickford (let down primarily by an out of her depth Pickford) and a surprisingly great condensed animated version as part of the animated Shakespeare Tales series (also a must check out, although its 'The Taming of the Shrew' is one of the weaker episodes of a rare series with not a bad episode in it).
In terms of production values, this 'The Taming of the Shrew' does lack the lavishness of the Burton/Taylor film, although not one of the most under-budgeted productions of the BBC Television Shakespeare series (one example being 'The Tempest') the sets are a bit sparse and the camera work could have been more expansive and not as static. It's forgivable for darker plays like 'Hamlet', but with 'The Taming of the Shrew' there is a strong preference for the lavish approach.
However, very little if anything was sparse or static in the production values. Jonathan Miller directs with taste and with an understanding of the text throughout, and not only brings out the play's wit, so the comedy still sparkles and is frequently amusing and more, he also stops the characterisation from being too eccentric and gives the drama more depth which gave it a surprising emotional core, rather than focusing too much on the comedy and combat. All without making it too safe or tame. The momentum didn't sag to me, while the storytelling always felt cohesive and it didn't ever feel too busy or static while also boasting no gratuitous touches.
Although Petruchio and Kate are still more interesting characters by default (both are compellingly real and more complex here than they tend to be when performed), and one of this production's biggest strengths is how the relationship between them is drawn (feeling more human than one usually sees), Lucentio and particularly Bianca are not as underdeveloped as they can be. The performances are never less than solid, with the supporting standouts being Antony Pedley, Frank Thornton, John Franklyn Robbins and Jonathan Cecil.
When seeing that John Cleese was playing Petruchio, eyebrows admittedly were raised, although a fine comedic actor Petruchio is a more serious, more dramatic and more complex role to take on and there was the worry that Cleese would be out of his depth. These worries quickly subsided, as Cleese is really quite superb, he does capture Petruchio's acidic wit (though not as "brutish" as Burton but that's not a bad thing at all, quite the contrary) but brings much more to him than that with the compassion and humanity really quite moving to watch. Sarah Badel also nails it, she is completely convincing in Kate's shrewishness, an essential character trait and she never overacts or underplays it that it becomes too hammy or too subdued, and anger, but at the same time provides a more human and vulnerable side to Kate that was interesting and just as affecting as with Cleese. As said above, the relationship between the two characters and therefore also the chemistry between Cleese and Badel was a big strength in this 'The Taming of the Shrew'.
Summarising, a great production and one of the better 'The Taming of the Shrews' there is to me. 9/10
'The Taming of the Shrew', may not be one of my favourite Shakespeare plays and it is one of his most controversial plays with criticisms of it being misogynistic. It does nonetheless entertain and charm, with Petruchio and Kate being memorably drawn (don't always find Bianca and Lucentio as interesting as characters) and Shakespeare's mastery of language still remains. This is a great production of it, and one of the 'The Taming of the Shrews' seen, more to see, it's one of the better ones. The others being the very well done Richard Burton/Elizabeth Taylor film, the uneven Douglas Fairbanks/Mary Pickford (let down primarily by an out of her depth Pickford) and a surprisingly great condensed animated version as part of the animated Shakespeare Tales series (also a must check out, although its 'The Taming of the Shrew' is one of the weaker episodes of a rare series with not a bad episode in it).
In terms of production values, this 'The Taming of the Shrew' does lack the lavishness of the Burton/Taylor film, although not one of the most under-budgeted productions of the BBC Television Shakespeare series (one example being 'The Tempest') the sets are a bit sparse and the camera work could have been more expansive and not as static. It's forgivable for darker plays like 'Hamlet', but with 'The Taming of the Shrew' there is a strong preference for the lavish approach.
However, very little if anything was sparse or static in the production values. Jonathan Miller directs with taste and with an understanding of the text throughout, and not only brings out the play's wit, so the comedy still sparkles and is frequently amusing and more, he also stops the characterisation from being too eccentric and gives the drama more depth which gave it a surprising emotional core, rather than focusing too much on the comedy and combat. All without making it too safe or tame. The momentum didn't sag to me, while the storytelling always felt cohesive and it didn't ever feel too busy or static while also boasting no gratuitous touches.
Although Petruchio and Kate are still more interesting characters by default (both are compellingly real and more complex here than they tend to be when performed), and one of this production's biggest strengths is how the relationship between them is drawn (feeling more human than one usually sees), Lucentio and particularly Bianca are not as underdeveloped as they can be. The performances are never less than solid, with the supporting standouts being Antony Pedley, Frank Thornton, John Franklyn Robbins and Jonathan Cecil.
When seeing that John Cleese was playing Petruchio, eyebrows admittedly were raised, although a fine comedic actor Petruchio is a more serious, more dramatic and more complex role to take on and there was the worry that Cleese would be out of his depth. These worries quickly subsided, as Cleese is really quite superb, he does capture Petruchio's acidic wit (though not as "brutish" as Burton but that's not a bad thing at all, quite the contrary) but brings much more to him than that with the compassion and humanity really quite moving to watch. Sarah Badel also nails it, she is completely convincing in Kate's shrewishness, an essential character trait and she never overacts or underplays it that it becomes too hammy or too subdued, and anger, but at the same time provides a more human and vulnerable side to Kate that was interesting and just as affecting as with Cleese. As said above, the relationship between the two characters and therefore also the chemistry between Cleese and Badel was a big strength in this 'The Taming of the Shrew'.
Summarising, a great production and one of the better 'The Taming of the Shrews' there is to me. 9/10