"The Taming of the Shrew" Done Seven Ways

Over the course of a week or two we watched seven different takes of the same scene of The Taming of the Shrew. The first one was a black and white version that was completely different from what I had imagined the production to consist of. It seemed to be set in Europe and took place in a parlor. The physical motions of the characters were extremely rough and violent. The second one was a Canadian version that was set outdoors. The third one was the Walnut production put on a few years ago. It was set traditionally in a parlor and the actors that portrayed Kate and Petruchio used the words to its fullest potential in order to embody the humor of the play. The costumes also help set the play in its traditional version which seemed to be the most practical. It was definitely a better fit than version #1. The fourth version was by far the best version. Although it played the scene out differently than the other three it utilized the setting extremely well as the actors moved from the room to the staircase and then to the roof. It seems that in the end, Kate acquiesces to Petruchio rather than strongly resisting him as was portrayed in the other versions. The fifth version did not seem to work because the costumes were out of place as Kate's revealing costume did not fit with the conservative period. The actors themselves did not seem to do much in the sense that they did not enhance their lines. The sixth version was set traditionally and demonstrated a stronger Kate character. The seventh version progressed at a faster speed because the actors spoke at a rapid rate. When they slowed down their speech, this helped viewers to tune into these lines. This was not the best take of Shakespeare's play, but it was by far the most humorous.