Shrew a night to be missed (rpt)

I wish i had.Thirty thousand people are likely to see this show. I'm curious to hear responses from others that have been to see the sensation that is Shakespeare in the Park.I saw the Dream two years ago and was very impressed - not as a Shakespeare afficinado by their interpretation - just at the sheer entertainment value and energy of the performance.This year's production of The Taming of the Shrew is one of the least funny things i've seen in a long time.We arrived very early for a picnic tea and picked a spot within 3m of the stage, but had difficulty hearing a lot of the dialogue. Not that this mattered a great deal. Everything was broadcast in semaphore. Maybe it was just the night i was there and there were a lot of three year olds in the audience, but the actors found it necessary to "Act Out" every line for the benefit of the kindergarten kiddies.The extraordinary wooing of Kate by Petruchio on their first meeting was unbearably slow! It proceeded largely in excruciating silence, with the only audience response a predictable titter on "what with my tongue in your tail?" Was it really necessary for the actors to mime it?By contrast, one of Biondello's later lines "as much as an apple doth an oyster", was played for itself and received at least as good a response through well phrased and timed delivery.Brick bats to a director with little understanding of comedy or Shakespeare - bring back Glenn Elston! There was some extraordinary talent on the stage, but i nearly wept to see it reduced to dashing about frantically in search of snicker from the audience. Dumbing down invariably reflects on the "do-er" rather than their audience.Bouquets to Michael (always audible) Loney, Luke Hewitt and Igor Sas who realised some of the best laughs in the show were to come from trusting the quality of the play. Bouquets also to the team involved in the opening musical number - it was a delight!Here's my challenge:See the Shrew - if you haven't already - and then see As You Like It in the New Fortune Theatre at UWA. One is professional with some of the best talent in town, the other amateur, but i'm willing to bet the latter will enchant you and entertain you twice as much for half the price.As You Like It plays Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday until 6th February.CheersGrant