(photo by Debora Robinson)
Written by Daniella Litvak
Time to brush up on your Shakespeare: The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s most popular —actually his second most popular according to a survey the Royal Shakespeare Company conducted in 2003. The story goes like this. In sixteenth century Italy, Padua to be exact, there lives a rich gentleman named Baptista. He has two daughters. Several suitors clamor for the hand of Bianca, the younger daughter. Unfortunately, Baptista refuses to permit any of the suitors marry Bianca until his elder daughter, Katherine (whose name varies from production to production), is wed first. Katherine is deemed a shrew —aka an abusive woman who does not know her place. Bianca’s suitors convince Petruchio —a gentleman of Verona —to woo Katherine. Attracted to her dowry and the idea of breaking her, Petruchio goes after Katherine’s hand while the rest of them continue to scheme for Bianca’s. Continue Reading
