Shakespeare at Curium, Limassol, Cyprus

This year was the 48th year for 'Shakespeare at Curium'.  For me  it was the 5th one that I saw and although I do remember how I enjoy  them, it is easy to forget what sheer magic they are. This year's performance was 'The Taming of the Shrew'.
Sitting in the ancient Curium amphitheatre with the sea as the backdrop and the stars for a ceiling, watching consummate actors and actresses perform Shakespeare, along with  a few hundred theatre loving people  can be a very uplifting experience. I felt transported to the world being enacted on the stage and the atmosphere was great. The many volunteers from the various charities supported by the group were polite, helpful, efficient and made sure that everything  was smooth. The audience were superb;they were there for their love for theatre and their love for Shakespeare. They were all one entity, laughing as a group at the same jokes. I felt proud to be one of them.
My ten year old son wrote the review of the play for his school project and when I read it, I felt his impression roughly reflected mine. So I am just posting his review under the photo album below.

But I do have to say one word about Lucy Georgiou, who played Katherine, the shrew. I never tire of watching her perform. I have watched her in so many different kinds of roles and am amazed at what a dynamic, versatile and beautiful actress she is. She really was the spark and the spirit of 'The Taming of the Shrew' as well. She puts life into any performance and brings the stage alive with her presence. Brilliant.

Must also mention the spectacular costumes by Tarcey Dyer. They indeed brought out the grandeur and the mood of the play. Best of all they matched the situations and the characters very well. The whites and pastels worn by sweet and insipid Bianca were a sharp contrast to the fiery reds and riotous colors worn by the spirited Katherine.

Vandana G.

A Review of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ - By Arjun Goyal

Where it was and when it was:
The show was held at the Curium Amphitheatre on the 19th, 20th and 21st of June 2009 (it was the 48th time a Shakespeare play had been performed there.) 

The Main Actors and Actresses:

* Lucy Georghiou - Katherine
* Richard Didonian - Petruchio
* David Ashley - Baptista
* Nina De Mitri - Bianca
* St. John Coombes - Lucentio
* Chris Neale – Grumio

Director: Janet Yianni

A brief summary of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’:
The play is written by Shakespeare and is set in rich Italy. A young man from Pisa called Lucentio arrives in Padua. He sees a woman called Bianca (the daughter of a rich man called Baptista) and immediately falls in love with her. However, he’s not allowed to marry her because her older sister named Katherine has to marry first but she is so bad – tempered that no one would marry her. Lucentio finds a man called Petruchio who would marry anyone rich so he could get the money. Lucentio disguises as a teacher and teaches Bianca Latin and Greek. Petruchio marries Katherine and manages to tame her so at the end Lucentio marries Bianca. 

My favourite part:
My favourite part was when Petruchio embarrassed Kate in front of Vincentio (Lucentio’s father) by telling her that he was a woman. She obviously ‘had to’ agree and made a fool of herself by describing a man as a woman. It was funny because Petruchio made Kate look silly in public. She was so bad – tempered that it was hilarious to see her in that situation!

My favourite actor/actress:
My favourite actor was Chris Neale (Grumio) because he said all his lines in a funny way and he was always adding things in between people’s conversations.

My favourite actress was Lucy Georghiou because she played her role very well and really acted like a shrew and calmed down slowly towards the end of the play. She also had a very clear voice. She had to play two types of roles (one of them calm and the other one mad) and she was amazing in both which showed what a great actress she is. 

My overall impression of the play:
I thought the play was very good. The dances were in time and every single character suited his/her part perfectly. In the beginning on Friday night the sound system wasn’t working properly and the man giving the introduction had half his words loud and half his words soft. It would have been so embarrassing but he made it sound funny. The sound effects were brilliant as well. The setting was very good and the fact that it was held in the Curium Amphitheatre against the sea and under the open sky made it beautiful. I also liked the live flute music in between the scenes while the stage was being set.