Cast Announcement
Shrew
Based on William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew
In the style of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed
Adapted and directed by Kelly Wilson
16-19 October, 2024
Earl Arts Centre, Launceston
Thematic Summary:
Using selected scenes from William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, the production aims to examine the power dynamics between men and women and its effect on their relationships, exploring a variety of issues from courtship to consent. Read “About The Theatre of the Oppressed” section for more details.
Cast of Characters: (in order of appearance)
The Joker (F) – The Mistress of Ceremonies, the narrator and guide of the play.
The Joker (M) – The Master of Ceremonies, the narrator and guide of the play.
Baptista Minola – Father of Katherina and Bianca, living in Padua.
Katherina Minola – The eldest daughter of Baptista.
Bianca Minola – The youngest daughter of Baptista.
Gremio – The elderly neighbour of Baptista and suitor to Bianca.
Hortensio – Friend of Petruchio and suitor to Bianca.
Lucentio – Son of Vincentio of Pisa and suitor to Bianca.
Biondella – Lucentio's cook and confidante.
Petruchio – Son of Antonio of Verona, friend of Hortensio, and suitor to Katherina.
Widow – Wealthy and influential woman.
Cast:
The Joker (F) – the narrator and guide of the play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lee Brient
The Joker (M) – the narrator and guide of the play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kevin Vong
Ensemble Actor 1 – Petruchio 1 / Hortensio 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Darcy Lynch
Ensemble Actor 2 – Lucentio 1 / Hortensio 2 / Petruchio 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nathaniel Wood
Ensemble Actor 3 – Baptista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .David Lee
Ensemble Actor 4 – Hortensio 1 / Lucentio 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Campbell Stebbings
Ensemble Actor 5 – Gremio 1 / Widow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Caroline Badcock
Ensemble Actor 6 – Bianca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Coco Ford
Ensemble Actor 7 – Biondella / Gremio 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amy Fawkner
Ensemble Actor 8 – Katherina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Toni Prestage
About The Theatre of the Oppressed:
The Theatre of the Oppressed is a forum designed to promote social change, drawing on Brechtian theatre conventions combined with the structure of ancient Greek plays. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Boal sought to create a less passive form of theatre in which the audience would go beyond merely feeling sympathy for the characters, but also actively invest in the outcome of the performance. He wanted to create a theatrical forum that was educational, without becoming didactic; an experience which taught people to actively deal with oppression in their own lives and start a conversation about how to create change. To paraphrase Boal’s own words, he wanted to take the traditional ‘monologue’ of theatre, and turn it into a ‘dialogue’. The audience learns much from the enactment, even though the acting is fiction, because the fiction simulates real-life situations, problems, and solutions. It stimulates the practice of resistance to oppression in reality, and offers a ‘safe space’ for practicing making change.
Forum Theatre works from rehearsal improvisation to create a scene of a specific oppression. Using the Greek terms ‘protagonist’ and ‘antagonist’, Forum Theatre seeks to show a person (the protagonist) who is trying to deal with an oppression and failing because of the resistance of one or more obstacles (the antagonists). The actors perform a play with a scripted core, in which an oppression relevant to the audience is performed. After reaching the scripted conclusion, in which the oppressed character(s) fail to overcome their oppression, the joker (difficultator) explains to the audience (spect-actors) that the scene will be repeated. If the spect-actors would do something different than what the oppressed protagonist is doing, they will stand up and yell “stop!”. The actor playing the protagonist will then stand to the side (but remain ready to give suggestions to the spect-actor) and the spect-actor is invited forward to show their solution of the moment, prompting the actors to begin the scene again. This process can continue until all suggested interventions from spect-actors have been performed, then the joker leads the audience in a discussion of the proposed solutions, and perhaps offers even more solutions. Boal clarifies that this practice is not intended to show the correct path, but rather to discover all possible paths which may be further examined.