Archive for January 2026

Audition Notice: The Taming of the Shrew

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Elaine Burns

Audition Dates Mon 26th and Thurs 29th Jan at 7.30pm

Performance Dates: Tues 8th to Sat 13th June

If you are interested please email Eliane on [email protected]

If you are interested but cannot make the dates please email Elaine so we can arrange to see you on a different date.

Synopsis:

This play is a well-structured farce and is actually funny.  Baptista a wealthy citizen of Padua needs to find husbands for his two daughters.  Shakespeare wrote the play in 1590 so that’s how  things were.  But Katherine is bad-tempered and angry at the world, a shrew.  So no-one wants to marry her.  Bianca is modest and sweet-tempered.  So Baptista declares that Katherine must be married before he will allow anyone to ask for Bianca.  All the action follows from this moment. Costumes will be modern dress  and many wordy speeches have been edited.  Petruchio and Katherine are played as written.

Cast

Baptista                     father of Katherine and Bianca                                   40+

Katherine             eldest daughter, bad tempered, a shrew

Bianca          younger daughter, appears compliant and modest

Petruchio       alpha male    charismatic and loud

Grumio   his longtime servant, makes asides to audience

Curtis   servant based at his house  Act 4 only

Gremio     suitor for Bianca, elderly, tricked by others

Hortensio  another  suitor, friend of Petruchio.  He pretends to be a tutor to Bianca

Lucentio   another suitor,

Tranio   Lucentio’s servant,  clever.  Swaps clothes with Lucentio and pretends to be him while Lucentio pretends to be a tutor for Bianca

Another servant Biondello is younger

Tailor/haberdasher  presents new clothes to Katherine

Pedant/merchant  tricked into playing Vincentio, Lucentio’s father in Act 4&5   very funny role

Vincentio  Lucentio’s father, Act  5 only but a strong role.

Widow, marries Hortensio    final scene only

The widow and Curtis can be played by the same person

Biondello can be played by a female as a young man

Tailor/Haberdasher will be played by a female

Tranio could be played by a female