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Preview: The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew

The Grand Theatre have announced that The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) will be presenting their ‘First Encounter’ production of The Taming of The Shrew live on the Grand Theatre’s stage in February 2014.

Directed by Michael Fentiman, the production will embark on a six week tour and aims to continue the RSC’s commitment to creating live theatre for young people.

With male actors playing female roles, and vice versa, this ‘First Encounter’ production tells the story of two people’s crazy journey towards becoming the perfect match. Using an edited version of the original text, it will also include an introduction to the performance and a chance to hear from the actors, to create a great first experience of seeing Shakespeare live.

The tour of First Encounter: The Taming of the Shrew forms part of the RSC’s Learning and Performance Network (LPN), a three year touring and education partnership with five regional theatres and their local schools. The Grand Theatre is one of the specially chosen theatres and will be working closely with Montgomery High School, the chosen Hub School for this region.

RSC Associate Artists, Katy Stephens and Forbes Masson will take on the lead roles: Katy as Petruchio and Forbes as Katherine. Katy’s recent RSC credits include Titus AndronicusCandide, As You Like ItKing Lear and The Histories, for which she won WhatsOnStage’s Best Actress Award.

Forbes’ RSC credits include As You Like ItRomeo and Juliet and The Histories, with work elsewhere including Macbeth (Trafalgar Studios) and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Kensington Palace Gardens).

Michael Fentiman, director, said:

Our production will embrace a spirit of mash up and confusion. Girls dressed as present day males will play the boys – but without beards. Boys dressed as Elizabethan females will play the girls – but with beards.

Feminine and masculine are thrown around so that the audience can focus on a story about two extraordinary people, who find each other in the midst of madness, fighting like cat and dog, but, in doing so, fall madly in love.

Michael’s work for the RSC includes his recent production of Titus AndronicusAhasverus by VassilySigarev, YPS Hamlet (as Associate Director), and As You Like It and Romeo and Juliet (Assistant Director).  Other credits include The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Kensington

Palace Gardens, co-director with Rupert Goold), Crackers (Belgrade, Coventry), Spoonface Steinberg (UK tour) and East (UK tour) Canterbury; Alhambra Theatre, Bradford; Curve, Leicester; and the New Vic in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The cast also includes: Claire Brown (Grumio), Caroline Faber (Hortensio), David Fielder (Baptista), Chris Jared (Bianca), Mimi Ndiweni (Lucentio),Ann Penfold (Gremio) and Anjana Vasan (Tranio). The production is designed by Colin Richmond with music and sound by Tom Mills.

The Taming of the Shrew runs at Blackpool Grand Theatre from Thursday 27th February to Saturday 1st March 2014. Tickets are available for £11.50 for adults, £7.50 for under 18s and £6 for school groups. To book call the Grand Theatre Box Office on 01253 743339 or go online to blackpoolgrand.co.uk

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