Taming Who? – Intermission Youth Theatre / Arcola Theatre, London

Graduates from Intermission Youth Theatre’s 15-year history return in Taming Who?, a Shakespearean adaptation for our times.

A Milestone for Intermission Youth Theatre

Yesterday marked a special performance on this year’s theatre calendar.  The latest press night for Intermission Youth Theatre (my third following Juliet & Romeo and MSND). And this one featuring alumni from the last 15 years.  A remarkable achievement for a remarkable programme.

If you don’t recall, let me briefly remind you.  Intermission Youth Theatre was founded in 2008 by Bishop Rob and Janine Gillion, and Darren Raymond.  Intermission run 10 month programmes for disadvantaged young people, centred around producing an adaptation of a Shakespearean play, but supporting participants much more holistically.  Their graduates have gone on to find success in the acting and theatre worlds, and have also translated their transferable skills and confidence into success in the corporate world or other spheres. Since 2013 they have also had a community programme which takes them into schools, pupil referral units, and young offenders institutions.

But this year’s production, as I mentioned, features a cast of graduates.  Their source material this year is Shakespeare’s 1590-92 play The Taming of the Shrew.  As ever, the adaptation retains the framework of the story, while updating some of the language and themes to make it relevant to today (and let’s be honest, as a teen in the 90s I learned the plot of The Taming of the Shrew through an updated adaptation anyway).

Taming Who?

In Taming Who? we still have the sweet and sour sisterly combo of Bianca (Ophelia J. Wisdom) and Katherine (Katherina in the original: played by Sara Mokonen).  Bianca still has suitors coming out of her ears: Gremio (Donnavan Yates), Hortensio (Tré Medley), Tranio (Chadrack Mbuini) and Lucentio (Kai Jerdioui). None of them can date her, however, until some poor sap clears her shrewish sister Katherine out of the way.  Enter Petruchio (Keon Martial-Phillip) who, under pressure to return home to Nigeria, has told his mum (Morenike Onajobi) he has got married and has a wife to look after him.  Great news: she’s happy for him to stay in the UK!  Terrible news: she’s coming in three days to meet his non-existent wife… He’d better find one, quick. Wonder who that could be?

This is still a Shakespearean comedy at heart, so comes with all the usual misunderstandings, innuendos and mishaps.  They’re translated into a much more contemporary setting, but definitely still there.  The additional characters provide more comic relief. Sian Leigh-Moore and Megan Samuel as Katherine and Bianca’s friends Minola and Baps are particularly good, as is Tane Siah as Petruchio’s brother Grumio.

I found myself contemplating the politics of the original and updated plays, however. It’s interesting how little things have really changed.  The Taming of the Shrew, like Taming Who?, is a tale of trying to subdue a woman. Only, in modern adaptations, there tends to be a last-minute realisation that her feisty personality is what you liked about her all along.  The ‘treat them mean, keep them keen’ scenes are deliberately uncomfortable. But to be fair the internet is full of awful strategies to do just that.  If we still haven’t learned to mutually respect our partners’ independence and personalities then it sounds like we haven’t moved far from Shakespeare’s time at all, even with appeasing addendums. An important reflection surfaced through this contemporary retelling. 

Elsewhere, Taming Who touches on questions of cross-cultural identity and belonging, women’s bodily autonomy, and the use of sociolects and code-switching.  All ways in which these tales crafted centuries ago can continue to be relevant to us today.

A Nurturing Environment For Talent To Grow

For this anniversary performance, it was great to see Intermission talent in more than just the cast. Graduate Stevie Basaula directs. His choice to give the cast space for physical comedy and fun makes this a high energy performance. And if there weren’t a couple of improvisations in there, then the naturalism and obvious rapport between cast members had me fooled.

A feature of Intermission Youth Theatre productions is their post-show ‘talk backs’. A quick Q&A, these give the audience additional insights into the production. And also give the cast a chance to express their thoughts and feelings on the work they’ve done and its wider context. There were some thought-provoking comments last night on the potential for managing talent beyond Intermission. Those West End and other successes are something to celebrate, but is it about breaking into the industry, or shaping a different kind of industry with different kinds of opportunities? Food for thought. As Intermission matures there’s also a clear desire/need for a permanent home: read more here.

To bring this post home, then, Taming Who? is a great showcase of what Intermission Youth Theatre do and who they are. The talent development, innovative adaptations, and sense of family and community. It’s also quite simply a fun evening out at the theatre. Martial-Phillip and Mokonen have great chemistry as Petruchio and Katherine, but this is really an ensemble piece, and the cast get the most from every scene. The Arcola Theatre has its drawbacks at this time of year: as well as losing the odd line (it’s a unique layout and not a purpose-built theatre), it’s also chilly: either wrap up warm or grab a mulled wine from the bar. Or both, why not? Then sit back and watch the hilarity unfold.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5

Taming Who? on until 14 December 2023. Taming Who? is alternating with the production by this year’s cohort, Excluded!, which is on until 16 December 2023. Find out more about both or book tickets here.