Producer Joanne Kam and theatre practitioner/director Reza Zainal Abidin have teamed up to spin Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew into a Bollywood cabaret filled with dance, song and yes even that perennial Bollywood favourite, a dance around a palm tree.
“It’s wacky fun!” declares music director Daniel Veerapen.
Veerapen reworked modern popular songs by Lady Gaga, Kanye West, and even Barry Manilow with a Bollywood twist besides including typical Bollywood music to create an authentic cabaret performance.
“I always have to remind myself that it has to be fun,” says director Reza, smiling. “But before we can get to the fun, we must know what it is all about.”
“The Taming of the Shrew” is the story of Katherina, a strong-headed woman who is generally shunned by men, and her beautiful younger sister Bianca, who by comparison has many suitors.
Unfortunately, their father forbids Bianca from marrying anyone until Katherina is married first. Katherina finds herself wed to a money-minded man called Petruchio who “tames” her through a series of psychological torments until she becomes a completely obedient wife.
Besides the unique elements of Bollywood song and dance in Taming of the Shrew: A Bollywood Cabaret, the script written by actor/playwright Gavin Yap completes the Malaysian transformation of the 16th century Shakespearean comedy.
In this version, Katherine runs her family’s successful money-lending business while Petruchio is an Indian prince. Joanne Kam plays feisty Katherine while Aanantha takes on the role of Petruchio.
“In this play, they have a mother,” Reza tells The Malaysian Insider. “In the original play, it is a father.”
He added that their remake also includes a new character called the Emcee which will be played by Akademi Fantasia’s first winner Vince Chong. The Emcee is inspired by the iconic character in the 1966 Broadway musical “Cabaret” that has seen numerous revivals in past years.
“Vince (Chong) will also be playing multiple roles in this play,” he says.
“He plays a priest, an Indian butler. He plays the tailor and he plays the widow,” adds Reza, looking amused.
The diverse backgrounds of the cast and crew involved in Reza’s production have naturally sparked dramas on the set, although Reza was loathe to go into details, choosing to just describe conflicts on punctuality.
“When I started working with him (director Joe Hasham), the first thing we learned was to never be late for anything,” he says, adding that he started his theatrical career in 1991.
“That’s for theatre, not for everything else!” he quips, laughing.
Reza explained that people coming from other backgrounds, such as television, would arrive on the set at 7pm if the call time was 7pm, although he had expected people to be ready for work, makeup and all, by 7pm.
Besides the challenge of punctuality, music director Veerapen talked about the challenges of striking the right vocal balance between the seven singers in the play.
“The challenge was to find the right combination of colours… balance between the singers,” says Veerapen, adding that he worked closely with vocal director Junji Delfino on this matter. “But as they’re all professional singers and musicians, it was no problem at all.”
As the son of famous jazz musician Michael Veerapen, Daniel admitted that his jazz background had some influence on the music composition, describing occasions where everyone just “broke out into big-time swing.”
“Songs were chosen carefully…to reflect or develop a scene,” says Veerapen.
When asked how he handled some of the “sexist” elements of the original Shakespearean comedy, Reza said that he created funny moments to shift the audience’s attention just after letting an uncomfortable moment where people would be aghast linger.
“In a lot of comedy, you hear that,” says Reza. “You must not forget it’s still a love story.
Veerapen agreed, saying “The story is still the Taming of the Shrew, no matter how Bollywood or Cabaret it is.”
Despite my own misgivings about the Shakespeare comedy that seems to encourage the subordination of women and psychological domestic violence, the colourful smorgasbord of Bollywood, cabaret and a localised script may just push me to suspend my feminist beliefs for an hour or two, and just simply enjoy the show.
“Taming of the Shrew: A Bollywood Cabaret” opens tomorrow until July 11 at PJ Live Arts at Jaya One, Petaling Jaya. Tickets are RM85 and RM105.
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