Kiss Me, Kate: Line of Duty's Adrian Dunbar offers 'light comic touch'
This revival of Cole Porter's 1948 musical is a love letter to the theatre

Cole Porter's 1948 musical "Kiss Me, Kate" is a giddy love letter to the theatre, said David Jays in The Guardian. Filled with "falderol frivolity" and glorious songs – "Too Darn Hot", "So in Love" and more – the show is a Broadway classic, and Bartlett Sher's "exhilarating" and luxurious revival should prove a big summer hit for the Barbican.
A witty spin on "The Taming of the Shrew", the set-up is that a divorced couple – producer/director/actor Fred and his movie star ex-wife Lilli – are opening in a musical version of the Shakespeare play. As their tempestuous offstage and onstage relationships intertwine, the "characters bicker in dialogue but unpack their hearts in song".
Now best known for his role in TV's "Line of Duty", Adrian Dunbar is "unorthodox casting" as the monstrously egotistical Fred, said Clive Davis in The Times. He's not the "most potent of singers" or athletic of dancers, but his "light comic touch" serves him well.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Meanwhile, the part of Lilli is taken by the Broadway star Stephanie J. Block – and she delivers a "knockout turn", said Marianka Swain in The Telegraph. Her acting is brilliantly nuanced, and her singing "simply divine". Elsewhere, Peter Davison is a "hoot as the general with a roving eye", Charlie Stemp supplies "sensational tap dancing and cheeky charisma", and Georgina Onuorah, as the ingénue Lois, is magnificent and "very much in charge", making "Always True to You in My Fashion" a "girl-power triumph".
For me, the evening lacked "pizzazz", said Nick Curtis in the Evening Standard. Where it should have been "fizzy and light", it felt "solid and serviceable", and there was precious little chemistry between Block and Dunbar, the latter seeming "uncomfortable and off the pace throughout".
Block is sensational, said David Benedict in The Stage. And Nigel Lindsay and Hammed Animashaun as the stagestruck gangsters bring the house down with their "Brush Up Your Shakespeare". But when it is the gangster subplot and the "glorious costumes" that steal the show, you know that something has gone awry.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Roast lamb shoulder with ginger and fresh turmeric recipe
The Week Recommends Succulent and tender and falls off the bone with ease
By The Week UK Published
-
Adolescence and the toxic online world: what's the solution?
Talking Point The hit Netflix show is a window into the manosphere, red pills and incels
By The Week Staff Published
-
6 welcoming recipes for cooking and baking during your spring days
The Week Recommends You want it flavorful, and you want it exciting
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Snow White: Disney's 'earnest effort to meet an impossible brief'
Talking Point Live-action remake of Disney classic is not the disaster it could have been – but where's the personality?
By The Week UK Published
-
Don McCullin picks his favourite books
The Week Recommends The photojournalist shares works by Daniel Defoe, Lesley Blanch and Roland Philipps
By The Week UK Published
-
6 breathtaking homes in capital cities
Feature Featuring a glass conservatory in Atlanta and a loft library in Boston
By The Week US Published
-
Spring's best new cookbooks, from pizza to pastries
The Week Recommends Pizza, an array of brownies and Cantonese-American mash-ups are on the menu
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Playhouse Creatures: 'dream-like' play is 'lively, funny and sharp-witted'
Anna Chancellor offers a 'glinting performance' alongside a 'strong' supporting cast
By The Week UK Published