Tomorrow at 7:30 pm, “The Taming of the Shrew” will be performed out in the open air just as it was back in Shakespeare’s time. Debuting at its rehearsal space at 666 Dorchester Ave, the Polish Triangle-based Brown Box Theatre Project will wind up its fifth season with the first event of its Annual Free Shakespeare Tour (August 21 through September 20), then travel to more than 20 locations throughout Massachusetts and Maryland.
Actors and audiences alike love seeing different versions of “Shrew” to compare the ways each director tackles the supposed “misogyny” of the script. Brown Box provides the requisite twist by having the suspect tale of insensitive men performed by a cast, all but one of whom are women.
The Brown Box ensemble, comprised of nine women and one man, weaves in and out of Shakespeare’s layered world to create a fresh and surprising theatrical experience for all audiences.
Though the main story of “Shrew” is set in Italy, the original script also has a rarely performed “Induction” or introductory scene set outside a British alehouse. There a drunken tinker Christopher Sly is tricked by a band of roving actors into thinking he is a rich lord for whom they are presenting a play called “The Taming of the Shrew.”
Though the crude, comic plot about an ornery and willful woman who is “tamed” and about men who will stop at nothing to claim their love, the actresses, of course, put this battle of the sexes in a whole new comic light.
Artistic Director Kyler Taustin explains that the production should appeal to iconoclasts and traditionalists alike: “As in most of our work there is a contemporary vibe in the costuming, but we’re very loyal to Shakespeare’s intentions and text. I have been eager to explore “The Taming of the Shrew” in this unconventional way for over a year,” he said, “and I am thrilled that we have been able to find such a talented cast of women to dig deeper into one of Shakespeare’s most intriguing comedies. We are excited to be taking this bold step for our fifth year of staging outdoor Shakespeare, and I can’t wait to bring this production to new locations throughout Massachusetts and the Delmarva Peninsula!”
This upgraded production should be easier to see and to hear than previous ones because the troupe now has body mikes and new lighting trees. Besides tomorrow’s opening at Still Point on Dot Ave, Boston area performances include Castle Island (8/27), where the show typically attracts over 400 fans; Martini Shell in Hyde Park (8/28); and Atlantic Wharf (8/23, 8/29, 8/30).
Brown Box Theatre Project’s mission is to bring high-quality theatre to communities that otherwise lack access to the performing arts. The constant goal in all their programming, which includes contemporary works as well as Shakespeare, is to bring down barriers that separate potential audiences from live theatre and to introduce the performing arts to the widest audience possible. For more information please visit: brownboxtheatre.org.
