Kiss Me, Kate at the Crucible Theatre Sheffield Review

Reviewed by Jenny Bray

Kiss Me, Kate is a show within a show, about a theatrical company putting on a version of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The show originally opened in December 1948 and went on to break pre-sale box office records on Broadway and then in London in 1951. It has since been translated in to 23 different languages. The music and lyrics were written by Cole Porter and the book by Sam and Bella Spewack with this version directed by Paul Foster.

The main storyline centres around ex-husband and wife Lilli Vanessi (Rebecca Lock) and Fred Graham (Edward Baker-Duly), who are playing the leading roles in The Taming of the Shrew and have a volatile love/hate relationship off the stage. There is also a love story between Lois (Amy Ellen Richardson) and Bill (Dex Lee) although Lois can be somewhat promiscuous if a man offers her the right gift, as highlighted by her song, ‘Always true to you in my fashion’.

Bill gets in to debt gambling but puts his IOU in a different actor’s name, causing two mobsters to come to the theatre to try to recover the debt. In order to do this, the show must go on until at least the end of the week so the mobsters end up joining in to ensure that certain characters don’t leave the stage before their money can be recouped. This causes a multitude of comedic events, including them dressing up and joining others on stage.

This is a musical with a whole load of songs interweaved between the plot and a lot of dancing going on. The whole cast very energetically danced their way around the stage many a time! My favourite songs were ‘I hate men’, sung by Lilli when playing Katherine and ‘Brush Up Your Shakespeare’ by the two mobsters, who were getting quite in to the stage presence by that time!

The banter between Lilli and Fred off stage ends up interfering with the onstage production, which is amusing if a little confusing for someone who hasn’t seen the show before (me!).

The initial outfits were great and suited the era, although I’m not sure why the ones worn for the production were quite so garish. I understand that they had to distinguish between the off stage and onstage roles but the onstage ones still seemed a little over the top.

Rebecca Lock had a great voice, which veered to partial operatic tones in some songs. She was also great at switching between scenes where she was portrayed as vulnerable versus scenes where she was a strong woman for the era. I also particularly enjoyed John Conroy’s portrayal of Baptista. He had great character when on stage.

The Crucible is one of the theatres in the centre of Sheffield. It is the modern theatre. The staff were very welcoming. There is a kiosk and a bar available. The first hour of parking is free at the local Q parks car park. Remember to pick up an additional ticket from the theatre in order to claim this.

I imagine the Crucible stage is quite hard to set due to not having edges that you can store scenery in. However, the staging for this show worked well. The different settings are mainly either backstage or on stage at the theatre, in the dressing rooms or just outside the theatre. Different sets came flying up and down from the eaves between scenes.

The orchestra were positioned up behind the set and were deliberately on display during some scenes, which was quite nice as you rarely see the orchestra during a show.

The first half seemed to flow more than the second half, which seemed to me to end in a slightly non-joined up way. I’m still trying to work out what I made of it overall. It was enjoyable, not least because of the number of catchy songs in it, but it didn’t have the wow factor for me. This was more about the actual show than the actors playing their parts. However, the actors received a standing ovation at the end by most of the audience, which doesn’t always happen, so most people must have really enjoyed it. I’m therefore going to rate it 4/5 and suggest that if you’re intrigued by it that you go and see it and decide for yourself.

Rating: 4/5

Tickets cost from £15 (booking fees may apply).

Kiss Me, Kate is at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield from 7 December 2018 to 12 January 2019, for more information or to book tickets visit www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk or call the box office on 0114 249 6000.

Crucible Theatre, 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA | 0114 249 6000