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Taming of the Shrew, The

Tron Theatre, Glasgow

Petruchio is a woman who isn’t afraid of a challenge. Which is just as well because her latest task is to tame a beautiful but waspish boy called Kate. But Kate isn’t going to make it easy for her… Has Petruchio bitten off more than she can chew? Read more …

Jo Clifford has exploded Shakespeare’s contentious classic to create a raucous and riotous new play which invites us to imagine a world in which women hold all the power. Exploring gender, identity and power this is The Taming of the Shrew for our times.


The critical consensus

Jo Clifford’s inventive and playful production gives the characters new conflicts, complexities and genders.

****(*)Gareth Llyr Evans, The Guardian, 06/03/2019

While it's not an entirely coherent experience, this Shrew is consistently diverting, benefiting from the excellent comic timing exhibited by the cast. It will probably be of little use, however, to anyone studying the original as a set text.

Othniel Smith, British Theatre Guide, 07/03/2019

Carrying on the success of last year’s collaboration between the Sherman and the Tron Theatre, productions such as these give a lot to hope for future Scottish/Welsh theatrical alliances.

****(*)Marine Furet, Plays to See, 08/03/2019

With a 75 minute run time, this is a breathless and exhilarating take on the original text that is performed is an engaging and accessible way.

****(*)Natalie O'Donoghue, Broadway World, 22/03/2019

It’s mind-blowing and sometimes confusing stuff, but as a trigger for debate about sex, gender and violence, it’s hard to imagine a more provocatively enjoyable show.

****(*)Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman, 22/03/2019

Jo Clifford’s gender-bending new reading of the story of how Katherina learnt to succumb to Petruchio’s will proceeds to turn the play’s world upside down, break every rule going and run with it to make a whirlwind piece of queer-core cabaret inspired subversion.

****(*)Neil Cooper, Coffee-Table Notes, 22/03/2019

Jo Clifford's reputation as naughty fairy godmother and provocateur is further reinforced with this exquisite, witty production which refuses to behave itself.

*****Lorna Irvine, The List, 22/03/2019

Jo Clifford's new version of Shakespeare's classic The Taming of the Shrew masterfully shines a light on society’s gender roles.

****(*)Chris Dobson, The Skinny, 25/03/2019

Bold, inventive and dry as a nun’s crotch, director Michael Fentiman’s absurdist production for the Tron and Sherman Theatre (their second collaboration after The Motherf**ker with the Hat) is at times too clever and out-there for its own good; but it’s a rollicking roller coaster of a ride – which is more than can be said for Matt Gavan’s petulant Kate who is dismissed as a “stinking piece of shite”.

****(*)Peter Callaghan, Review Sphere, 23/03/2019

A rising call to gender-anarchy that is both playful and provocative.

****(*)Christine Irvine, The Wee Review, 01/04/2019


Features about Taming of the Shrew, The

'Women are the powerbrokers': gender-flipping Shakespeare's Shrew

Natasha Tripney, The Guardian, 25/02/2019

Jo Clifford--The Taming of the Shrew

Neil Cooper, Coffee-Table Notes, 16/03/2019

Jo Clifford on making a Taming of the Shrew for the 21st century.

Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman, 18/03/2019

Where and when?

Tron Theatre, Glasgow from Wednesday March 20, 2019, until Saturday March 30, 2019. More info: www.tron.co.uk

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