Shakespeare Play Still Generates Controversy

But local director and cast disagree "Shrew" is sexist

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By Bill McAllister
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Story Created: Dec 10, 2011 at 10:46 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Dec 10, 2011 at 10:46 AM AKDT

It is one of a couple of Shakespeare plays still generating controversy more than 400 years after it was written. “The Taming of the Shrew” has been called sexist for its depiction of an aggressive courtship. But among those who disagree are the director and cast of the production at UAA.

Here is the most physical comedy you’re likely to see on an Anchorage stage. UAA’s production of “The Taming of the Shrew” might seem like the stuff of a restraining order. The actors never stopped rehearsing the blows.

The famous love story of Petruchio and Katherine was written by William Shakespeare in the 1590s, and it retains its appeal, even post-feminism.

Director David Edgecombe says despite criticism of the play and the implication of the title, both of the lovers are changed in the course of the action.

“When we first see Petruchio, he is macho and violent and everything we don’t respect in men,” Edgecombe said. “By the end, he is also tamed. And what tames them? Well, I think love tames them.”

“The Taming of the Shrew” will be performed at 8 Saturday night in the Fine Arts Building on the UAA campus. The final show is a Sunday matinee at 3 p.m.

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