PREVIEW: The Playwrought Project Flips the Script on Shakespeare's Most Contentious Comedy

Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has long been one of his most problematic works for contemporary audiences, its central premise of male dominance sitting uncomfortably with modern sensibilities. The Playwrought Project's upcoming production at the Sydney Theatre Company's (STC) Wharf 2 Theatre tackles this challenge head-on with a bold reimagining that places women in positions of power while maintaining the play's essential dramatic tensions.

Mitchell Bourke's adaptation locates the action in a matriarchal 1594 where women control both political and domestic spheres. This gender reversal does more than simply swap roles. It creates new possibilities for exploring the play's themes of power, desire, and social conformity. When traditional gender dynamics are inverted, the play's examination of who holds authority and how they use it takes on entirely different meanings.

The casting of Natasha Vickery as Petruchio represents the production's most significant interpretive choice. Rather than merely having a woman play a male role, this decision transforms the character entirely, creating space for questions about how courtship, manipulation, and romantic conquest operate when traditional power structures are reversed. The "taming" dynamic becomes something altogether different when the tamer is no longer operating from assumed male privilege.

The 70-minute running time suggests this production will focus on essential dramatic elements rather than comprehensive textual preservation. This condensed format could serve the production well, maintaining momentum while allowing audiences to engage with Shakespeare's language without becoming overwhelmed by the play's more problematic passages. Strategic cutting can sometimes reveal a work's core themes more clearly than complete fidelity.

Bourke's personal investment in the production (including hand-sewing the costumes) demonstrates the kind of passionate commitment that often distinguishes independent theatre. The mention of over 50 custom costume pieces indicates serious attention to visual spectacle, crucial for a play set in the opulent world of Elizabethan high society. These production values suggest ambitions that extend beyond simple concept to full theatrical realisation.

STC's Wharf 2 Theatre also provides an ideal venue for this kind of intimate reimagining. The space's flexibility allows for creative staging approaches while maintaining the close audience-performer relationship that serves Shakespeare's wordplay and character development. For an adaptation this bold, the intimacy could prove crucial in helping audiences navigate unfamiliar character dynamics.

The production's approach to one of Shakespeare's most challenging comedies reflects broader conversations in contemporary theatre about how to handle problematic classical texts. Rather than avoiding difficult material or presenting it uncritically, The Playwrought Project has chosen active reinterpretation, generating new meaning from familiar text.

The decision to set the action in a matriarchal society rather than simply gender-swapping within existing power structures shows sophisticated thinking about how social systems shape individual behaviour. This world-building creates consistent internal logic that should help audiences engage with the altered dynamics rather than simply noting surface-level reversals.

Bourke's description of the production as "outrageous, cheeky, and full of heart" suggests an approach that embraces both the play's comedic energy and its emotional complexity. The best modern reinterpretations of Shakespeare productions find ways to honour both the playwright's theatrical instincts and contemporary audience needs.

This production presents familiar material, but through a genuinely fresh lens. Rather than museum-piece Shakespeare or heavy-handed updating, The Playwrought Project promises theatrical transformation that reveals new possibilities within established text.

The timing feels particularly relevant too, as conversations about consent, power dynamics, and gender roles continue to evolve in contemporary culture. This Taming of the Shrew arrives as both entertainment and cultural commentary.

The Taming of the Shrew runs at STC's Wharf 2 Theatre from September 26 to October 15.
Tickets and more info: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2025/the-taming-of-the-shrew

(images: David Hooley)