An excerpt from Silent Shakespeare, performed at Canterbury Christ Church University`s Anselm Studio on the 13th January 2017. The show was directed by Kyle Harrington and Jamie Sims and features Jason Hodgson as musical director, with his live accompaniment. Molly Cast and Kyle Harrington play the roles of Katharine and Petrucio respectively. Silent Shakespeare is a highly energetic and hilarious show that draws on silent movies for inspiration as well as having a contemporary self awareness and a D.I.Y. aesthetic. The full show is approximately 90 minutes long and tells the story of the Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, and a Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The scene is from Taming of the Shrew and explores the couple’s meeting and highlights his attempts at wooing her as well as making her submissive to his will. Katharine is a strong willed character and resists him at every turn, which is something that you will notice.

The scene is highly inspired by the work of Buster Keaton, especially looking at the period where his career concentrated on twenty minute stories with what he dubbed “cartoon gags.” His work is exceptionally physical while maintaining a dead pan air.