The Taming Of The Shrew

Shakespeare Retold is the title for the series produced by BBC in 2005. It consisted of 4 short films, 'Much Ado About Nothing', 'Macbeth', 'The Taming Of The Shrew' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. These traditional Shakespeare plays are rewritten and set in present time, making them more relatable to the modern day public.

The Taming Of The Shrew stars Shirley Henderson (commonly known for Moaning Murtle in the Harry Potter Series) as Kate Minola, Rufus Sewell as Petruchio, Jaime Murray as Bianca, Kate's international model sister, Steven Tompkinson as Harry, Bianca's manager, and Twiggy as Kate's mother.

Kate is horrendously psychotic, but equally as hilarious. Her opening scene is complete with a Jaws-like soundtrack and the image of quick-paced feet stomping through parliament. For me, Kate resembles the Elizabethan's the most out of the cast, not just for her looks, but her personality too. Her hair is styled in an just off-centre middle parting, and is seen in an up-do right until the day of her wedding, the opposite of how the Elizabethan's wore theirs. Her makeup is very plain and pale, unlike her sister Bianca's. The eyebrows make this look contemporary, as they are bold and thick. The costume always fashions a large collar which resembles a ruff, or statement, similar to the Elizabethan styling of the time. On her wedding day, she wears a pearl-coloured satin gown, which I believe the stylist has chosen, as Queen Elizabeth always wore pearls to represent purity. The style of her wedding dress also fashions a large collar, which makes her look more superior. Her hair is styled in a high hairstyle, complete with a pearl hair accessory at the back.
There are many resemblances to the Elizabethans in the styling, as well as her strict personality, and staying unwed and pure until she reluctantly falls in love.

Petruchio is another character that for me is a New Elizabethan. He wears fur, a costly fabric which also shows superiority. He even has a title, the 16th Earl of Chartbury, which shows that he is an important character, even though he doesn't particularly show this side of him. His home is vast with heavy wooden doors, high ceiling, large, arched windows and even a chandelier, but when Kate is first introduced to the home, it is ageing, dusty and tired. Petruchio is described as 'big, eccentric, overwhelming... he hits people when they get in his way', which to me resembles that of Queen Elizabeth, as she was very eccentric of her time, and had the superiority for people to move out of her way with a click of her fingers if she wanted them to.

There are many similarities to the Elizabethan Era in this short film, from the scenery of the offices being red, black and white (the main colours of the Era) to the clothes and personalities of the characters.

Reference: (Wikipedia, 1st May 2014, 'ShakespeaRe-Told- The Taming Of The Shrew (online) [viewed 07/11/2014] available from ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ShakespeaRe-Told#The_Taming_of_The_Shrew)
(Duncan and Ennis Macleod, June 2008, The Taming Of The Shrew, Shakespeare Retold (online), [viewed 07/11/2014], available from: http://www.shakespearefilms.com/the-taming-of-the-shrew-shakespeare-retold/)