Shrew: The Experiment

23 May 2025

Shakespeare North Playhouse

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One of Shakespeare’s most controversial works, “The Taming of the Shrew” sees an immovable object and an unstoppable force meet when fierce Katherine (labelled a venomous, disobedient woman or “shrew” that needs to be “tamed”) and mysterious outsider Petruchio are forced into marriage by a society keen to get rid of them. Does he “tame” her into a submissive wife, or do the Othered pair join forces to con a society that answers their gender nonconformity with violence? Shrew: The Experiment play-tests from multiple viewpoints. Should we still perform Shakespeare’s Shrew in the 21st century? Is Petruchio a nonconforming outsider freeing Kate from the oppressive system? Or is he an abusively misogynist part of this system? Are the fights slapstick, sexy or serious? You decide.

This first-of-its-kind theatrical experiment places Shakespeare’s iconic battle-of-the-sexes firmly in the 21st century, where nonconformity of all kinds is still answered with violence.

Using innovative technology to place the power in the hands of the audience, Shrew: The Experiment shares the firebrand leading roles of Katherine and Petruchio between one male & one female actor, using videogame aesthetics to explore different interpretations of their relationship, with you the audience deciding who plays who!