Tag Archives: Jude Owusu

KISS ME, KATE

โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…

Barbican

KISS ME, KATE at the Barbican

โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…

โ€œThis is a blazing production, burning with wit and charm, song and dance, and with a feelgood finale that is far hotter than a British summerโ€

We are officially in summer in a couple of daysโ€™ time, although it might not necessarily feel like it. But a couple of bars into the overture of Cole Porterโ€™s classic, โ€œKiss Me, Kateโ€ and the clouds disappear. We are instantly put in a good mood, unable to resist the warmth and the joie de vivre this sizzling and silly musical has to offer. Porter is on top form, complemented brilliantly by Sam and Bella Spewackโ€™s book which adopts Shakespeareโ€™s โ€˜play-within-a-playโ€™ trick, taking its subterfuge to new heights.

Both โ€˜Taming of the Shrewโ€™ and โ€˜Kiss Me, Kateโ€™ have gathered accusations of misogyny over time, but if you look deeper, the bard and the songsmith are, in fact, championing womenโ€™s rights. And Bartlett Sherโ€™s revival brushes off any remaining crumbs of sexism that may linger with this revival. The sheer force of the two leading ladiesโ€™ performances, of course, helps immensely.

The show opens with a curtain call. One that is being rehearsed for the opening night of โ€˜The Taming of the Shrewโ€™. Fred (Adrian Dunbar), the egotistical director and producer, is starring as Petruchio while his ex-wife, Lilli (Stephanie J. Block), plays Katherine. The two bicker constantly, like Burton and Taylor on a bad day, yet Dunbar and Block effortlessly reveal the deep-seated, hidden love and affection they still hold for each other. The only casualty here is the โ€˜will-they-wonโ€™t-theyโ€™ dynamic โ€“ we just know from the off that theyโ€™ll eventually reconcile, despite Lilli being betrothed to a strait-laced, regimental General Harrison Howell (a delightful cameo from the underused Peter Davison).

 

 

Meanwhile Lois (Georgina Onuorah) and her gambling, misbehaving boyfriend, Bill (Charlie Stemp), are enjoying their own backstage tussles. Not least because thereโ€™s a thing going on between Lois and Fred. The shenanigans donโ€™t stay in the green room, however, but are dragged kicking and screaming onto the stage, playing havoc with Shakespeareโ€™s storyline. Throw in a couple of gangsters chasing a gambling debt (Hammed Animashaun and Nigel Lindsay), and the farce is complete.

It is a star-studded production, with an equally starry ensemble. Everyone has a moment to glow in the spotlight, yet nobody outshines anyone else. Each swing, and chorus member, portrays a well-defined, unspoken personality too. Anthony Van Laastโ€™s choreography is stunning, not just visually but also in its storytelling, reaching its climax in the Act Two opener, โ€˜Too Darn Hotโ€™, which elicited an ovation that finally had to be cut short by the performers themselves, worried that they might miss the last train home.

Matching the dancing skills are the vocal skills. Georgina Onuorah and Stephanie J. Block mix power with fragility, wit with emotion. Onuorahโ€™s show-stopping โ€˜Always True to You in My Fashionโ€™ is another highlight, while Blockโ€™s โ€˜So in Loveโ€™ is steeped in gorgeous torment. Slightly out of his depth, Adrian Dunbar reprises the number. He can hold a tune, for sure, but his vocal shortcomings do stand out against the sheer wall of virtuosity he is surrounded by. Dunbarโ€™s own virtuosity is confined to his character acting and comic timing which is, indeed, spot on. Hammed Animashaun and Nigel Lindsay, on the other hand, are a double act with a triple threat, showcased by their superbly comic performance, and brilliant rendition of โ€˜Brush Up Your Shakespeareโ€™.

Catherine Zuberโ€™s costumes perfectly mirror the various elements of the show, mixing the eroticism of the backstage, sultry and sexy glamour with the onstage Elizabethan grandeur. Michael Yearganโ€™s revolving set seamlessly guides us through the stage door onto the stage, via the dressing rooms and back again. This is a blazing production, burning with wit and charm, song and dance, and with a feelgood finale that is far hotter than a British summer. While itโ€™s definitely not too darn hot outside, inside the Barbican, itโ€™s sizzling.

 


KISS ME, KATE at the Barbican

Reviewed on 18th June 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Johan Persson

 

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

LAY DOWN YOUR BURDENS | โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… | November 2023

KISS ME

KISS ME

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