Productions

NAMING THE VIEW – a contemporary play that will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions. Whilst it tackles the sensitive issue of abusive relationships, it is also full of humour and hope. You will laugh and cry in equal measure, so be sure to bring tissues! Suitable for KS4, small-scale and rural touring.

Naming the View

NAMING THE VIEW – a contemporary re-imagining of The Taming Of The Shrew. Kate and Horton meet accidentally for the first time in 30 years. They’ve both had a lot to deal with in the intervening years. Slowly they discover that it’s never too late to explore new horizons.

“A powerful, relevant and thought-provoking piece of theatre… riven with humour and hope” (Stage Talk Magazine****).

FINDING THE WILL also offers Q and A sessions after each performance to discuss the issues contained within the play. As well as being entertaining, the piece is also ‘educational’ by way of raising awareness about coercive control and domestic abuse. It has some sensitive and pretty grim themes (coercive control, domestic/economic abuse, dementia) however it is a play about hope and survival. It encompasses humour and lighter moments, which make the tragic moments more powerful. Ultimately, there is an upbeat ending!

Although this play stems from a Shakespeare play (The Taming of The Shrew), it is not Shakespeare! There is no requirement to know the original Shakespeare play.

The play is in two halves (45 minutes – interval – 30 minutes) followed by a Q and A session or general discussion.

For a sense of how the play leaves audiences feeling, here are some previous audience comments:

“You took us on a meaningful journey. Powerful performances – I was moved and I also laughed often. I’ll still be thinking about it tomorrow. Thank you!”

“The acting was superb. Absolutely brilliant.”

“Emotional rollercoaster! Very warm and engaging. Excellent. Really enjoyed it. Such an important topic and done in such a sensitive and clever way. Thank you.”

“1) Sometimes even quality acting looks like acting, this looked like a natural conversation- totally convincing.
2) Attention to detail – down to the hairstyle change in Part 1 and Part 2. Superbly written, engaging and thought-provoking, no padding, exceptional performances – this is perfect for rural touring: minimal props will fit in any stage area. Lovely people to work with.”

“Pace – Moving – Funny – Wonderful – Relevant! Wonderful writing – so much truth and depth. This needs to tour and get out there!”

“The intimacy of a very difficult subject. I thought it was a brilliant and much needed presentation of a familiar work, totally relevant to today. My teenage daughters watched it and I know it will have resonated with them.”

“The characters felt so real. A really important issue explored through the wonderful performance. Really, really enjoyed! Very emotional and also very funny. Thank you :-)”

“I spent 4 years in a relationship of mental and emotional and financial abuse. Been out of it for 10 years and was so wonderful and cathartic to see how the play moved in the second half. I could relate so much to Kate’s situation. It was so relatable, enjoyable, affirming and strengthening. F*cking ACE!”

Press Reviews - Naming The View in the Everyman Studio, Cheltenham

Fenton Coulthurst

This was a more than satisfying outing. Naming the View is a simple two-hander with a rather multifaceted premise. At the surface level, it concerns Kate and Horton, two estranged friends who happen to bump into each other whilst climbing Cleeve Hill. The text behind this meeting is The Taming of the Shrew. We are joining equivalents of Kate and Hortensio some thirty years after Kate’s supplicant marriage to our modern equivalent of Petruchio. Even without this framework though, this keenly observed piece offers emotive and affecting insight into how people can become trapped in abusive relationships. It about surviving and moving beyond that abuse.

Naming the View is not the first nor will it be the last play to try to unpick the misogyny that closes Shakespeare’s Shrew. The thirty year time jump and recontextualisation in a modern setting do a lot to make this play stand out. Horton’s equivocations about his obliviousness to the dynamics of Kate’s marriage are all couched in facile excuses like ‘it was different back then’. It’s a clever device that offers a pointed commentary on excusing the sexual politics of yesteryear whilst also drawing upon the historical controversy of the original play. But this is not some remote academic discussion of issues, it’s a touching, funny and sad reflection on how these issues and attitudes really do affect people.

The show is brought to us by production company Finding the Will and performed by co-directors Jules Hobbs and Richard Curnow. They are responsible not only for the very natural characters on stage but the focused scope of the entire production. Hobbs’ Kate is the unarguable core of the play but credit must be given to Curnow for mercurial turns during flashbacks between the trivial and jolly Horton in the present to the pitiful bully Pete. I mustn’t frame this as a dour piece. Naming the View is riven with humour and hope. It’s reflections on dark subject matter are enclosed within a story of rekindled friendship and healing. But there is no doubt that this does touch on some bleak circumstances and with an affecting degree of intensity. Acknowledging the dedication to the emotional reality of domestic abuse is the highest praise I can give it.
★★★★☆ Fenton Coulthurst

Sheila Vanloo - Vanloo’s Reviews

Domestic abuse, both physical and mental, has always been one of the famous taboos. Abuse went on behind closed doors which should stay firmly shut and never be brought into conversation at a dinner party, or anywhere for that matter. Thankfully those doors are finally being forced open and the women and men who have suffered in silence are declaring their very real pain and asking for help. Writers, artists and performers are using their platforms to highlight the vast numbers of domestic violence victims by creating work to ensure this insidious and controlling behaviour stays in the limelight.

Richard Curnow’s superb two – hander tackles the subject using stark candour mixed with humour. The play unfolds as a couple of old friends accidentally meet up after losing touch for many years and draws modern day parallels with The Taming of The Shrew. Kate and Horton have both suffered years of abuse in different ways at the hands of their spouses; as the play progresses we are spellbound as their individual stories unfold. Using clever flashbacks Horton morphs into the bullying and thoroughly nasty Pete, husband of the broken and unhappy Kate. Horton’s misery at the hands of his nit picking wife is another form of abuse, relentless not threatening, but culminating in the breaking of Horton. Having painted a dark picture, rest assured that Finding The Will is not all doom and gloom for laughter and hope runs throughout the story.

Jules Hobbs and Richard Curnow held the Grampound audience with riveting performances which were wonderful to watch, but must be physically and mentally draining for both. Beautifully directed by Bryn Holding, Naming The View should be performed up and down the country, not only to raise awareness to those who are fortunate enough to be untouched by the subject matter, but also to offer hope to those men and women trapped in cruel situations who
believe there is no escape.

Sheila Vanloo
Vanloo’s Reviews – Cornwall