One of the Bard's most controversial plays, the story follows the wooing of two sisters, and specifically the "taming" of the elder, Katherine (Emily Bennett), a sharp-tongued, nagging "shrew", by Petruchio (Peter Goode), a chap who freely admits early on he only wants her father's money.

The younger sister, Bianca (Hazel Ocsko), a spoilt brat who enjoys being her father's favourite, is the object of desire for three suitors, who each try to wrangle their way into her affections through the Shakespearean trademarks of identity swaps, duplicity and chicanery.

But it is the taming itself which has raised heckles for about 420 years, with even Shakespeare's contemporary audiences uneasy at the forced acquiescence of Katherine by starvation and mental abuse by Petruchio.

Director Alex Young and Emily Bennett tackle this head-on, interpreting the controversial final scene where Katherine is paraded before her family as a Stepford Wife-style trophy, as an "Oscar-meriting" performance, with tongue firmly in cheek.

The play's dependence on wordplay and Elizabethan innuendo made heavy watching at times for this amateur viewer but the cast, as always, were outstanding.

Ms Bennett's feisty, firebrand shrew led the way, but Lee Payne's geriatric Gremio and Ross Muir's Hortensio, rivals for Bianca's hand, made a fine comic double-act.

Rainbow regular Nick Trumble, playing Lucentio (who eventually bags Bianca), again showed his quality as a Shakespearean comedian and Olu Cole-Wilson (Grumio), showed he was one to watch with an impressive debut.

-------------------------------------
Click here to go back to leisure.

Where are you? Add your pin to the Herald's international readers' map by clicking here.

Email the Herald: letters@worthingherald.co.uk