The theatre in the hills is delighting audiences with its talented ensemble, who combine acting and musicianship to equally-high standards.
It began last year with the much-lauded Whisky Galore which wowed audiences as they saw the facility with which the performers could switch their talents.
This year it’s Cole Porter’s 1948 Broadway hit Kiss Me Kate that makes the same demands as the 17-strong company is called upon to act, sing, play instruments and dance.
A play within a play, Kiss Me Kate shows a Baltimore acting company touring their less than sparkling version of Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew.
The central conflict between Kate and Petruchio in the bard’s original is mirrored in the relationship between the actors that play the roles, which makes for a lot of insulting and bottom-smacking of the little woman, which is particularly uncomfortable in all senses.
Any weakness is to be found in the structure, received wisdom and writing of the 60-year-old musical rather than in John Durnin’s new production.
The salvation of the piece lies the music and there is an absolutely sizzling version of Too Darn Hot which opens the second half.
Kate boasts a bafflingly eclectic range of songs, from Wunderbar to From This Moment On, as it’s not always clear what they have to do with action onstage but they are still good tunes given a fine rendition by the company and off-stage band under the baton of Jon Beales.
Kate Quinnell as Bianca/Lois has brio and humour in equal measure and a singing voice perfectly attuned to the period and the music.
Martine McMenemy Kate/Lilli Vanessi and Graham Vick as Petruchio/writer/director/producer Fred go for the arch sub-operatic approach in their conflict on and off stage.
There’s a nice double act by David Delve and Dougal Lee as the hoods who get roped into the show when they are only at the theatre to extort gambling debts.
Probably the best approach is to treat the piece as a sampler for a bunch of talented people who know their brass from their elbow rather than try to fathom what is going on and what exact point Porter is trying to make.
Photos courtesy of Pitlochry Festival Theatre.