The Taming of the Shrew

Ending the Royal Shakespeare Company’s winter sojourn at the Novello Theatre is Conall Morrison’s production of The Taming of the Shrew, starring Stephen Boxer as Petruchio and Michelle Gomez as Katherine.

With our modern “PC” sensibilities, Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew can seem a little too close to the bone. When swaggering Petruchio jumps at the challenge to woo firebrand Katherine (so that his friend Hortensio can woo Katherine’s younger sister Bianca), he uses any means possible – humiliation, bullying and even brute force – to bend Katherine to his will. Much to the amazement of everyone he seems to succeed, but who has really won the war of the sexes? Also, who will win Bianca, as Hortensio has rivals in elderly Gremio and new man about town, Lucentio?