(26 Sep 2013) SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE DEBUTS IN HONG KONG
The Shakespeare's Globe marks their first foray into Hong Kong and mainland China with an all-female interpretation of the Bard's controversial "The Taming Of The Shrew," and shares the joys of being a touring theatre troupe.
Shakespeare's Globe was established fifteen years ago with the aim of exploring William Shakespeare's works and to rebuild the original Globe Theatre that the Bard himself was associated with.
The group believes that theatre tours are at the heart of the Bard's works, and pay tribute to the fact by not only bringing the Globe's plays around the world, but also by opening the latest production of "The Taming Of The Shrew" by singing an old Irish folk tune while dressed up as a classic theatre troupe.
Leah Whitaker, plays the male protagonist, the gold-digging Petruchio who was determined to domesticate his headstrong and independent wife, Katherina (played by Kate Lamb). The role is a challenging and controversial one, especially in modern times where feminist movements are on the rise, but Whitaker does not feel the pressure.
"Actually I think there's an awful lot of freedom in acting as a man. Certainly in Shakespeare, women of our age very rarely get to be the protagonist because he didn't write young female roles, or many young female roles that were as active and as fun as it is. So actually I think that it is a huge honor to play a man, but also it's an awful lot of fun," she said.
The group found new meaning to the play, and rather than viewing it as a dark comedy that sees Katherina conform herself to society's expectation and transform herself into a submissive wife, Kate Lamb sees her character as an insecure woman that many modern day girls could relate to.
"I think yes, I think probably a lot do. We've been doing this now for almost three months, and I've actually had quite a few people come up to me and say to me how much they've related to what they saw on the stage and how much it meant to them and how it moved them. I mean, I can relate to it, to certain aspects of what she goes through and her personality. I think we all have fears of being lonely, I think we all have fears of being misunderstood. I think that's incredibly natural," she said.
This is the group's first time to perform in Hong Kong, and they have high hopes to establish a lasting presence here and in mainland China in the future. Lamb states that touring has allowed the group to interact with different audiences, and to work with different spaces was to her, the best part of performing globally.
"I would say, the best thing about being on tour for me is playing new spaces. Because with each new space comes a new audience and what I've discovered with the Globe is that the audience is as big a part of the play as are the actors. Every time you tour to a new venue you're playing to a new audience, a new society, a new village or a new country, and that comes with it the reactions and different histories and so you are relating to a different thing. There's so much of a direct connection between the actor and the audience with this play, with the Globe shows, that touring to new venues keeps it so exciting and so different. People laugh at different things depending on the country, depending on the town, and it's great. It's new every time and that's the best thing for me," she said.
The cast of "The Taming Of The Shrew" is performing in Hong Kong through to September 29th, 2013.
Their next stop is Singapore, where they will perform from 2nd - 13th October, 2013.
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