Shakespeare - Focusing on Act 5 scene 2 of Shakespeare's comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, explain how you would direct this play for a modern audience.

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Shakespeare coursework

Focusing on Act 5 scene 2 of Shakespeare’s comedy, The Taming of the Shrew,

 explain how you would direct this play for a modern audience.

'The Taming of the Shrew' involves a rich businessman, Baptista, who has two daughters. He forbids anyone to court his beautiful daughter, Bianca, until he finds someone to marry his other daughter, Katherina, who is labelled a shrew. The man marries Katherina is Petruchio; who treats her cruelly until she obeys and agrees with him.

        At the time the play was written, the role of women in life was different. Today, we learn that men and women should be seen as equals. In act 5 scene 2 of the play, this is not seen. In Padua, women were seen as possessions of men among with other things such as the man’s house or horse. It was a woman’s duty to obey her husband and because Kate did not, she is seen by the male characters as unnatural which is evidence of evil.

        With a modern audience, this role of women will cause some people, especially the women, to feel insulted or uncomfortable. In the play, if Kate is dressed in old-fashioned clothes then her speeches will be taken seriously, but if Kate is dressed in modern designer clothes with sunglasses and maybe a mobile telephone, then the audience will assume she is being sarcastic in her speech. A lot of what the audience thinks will also depend upon the other characters’ reactions to what Kate says. They could be shocked and surprised at what she says or they could see it as a big joke.

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        I will describe how I would direct part of act 5 scene 2 to a modern audience. This is where most of the main characters are together and Petruchio shows all the other men that he has tamed Kate. All the men have had a bet on whose wife is most obedient.

        The men will be playing cards and the women will be talking in a nearby room. The servants, Biondello and Gremio will also be playing cards with the men because they are good friends of their masters.

        The men will be dressed in casual suits with loosened ties ...

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