The Royal Shakespeare Company is to continue its commitment to creating live theatre for young people with a production of The Taming of the Shrew.
Directed by Michael Fentiman and aimed at children aged 8 to 13, the production will open in February 2014 in schools in the Midlands and at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford.
It then goes on a six-week UK tour of schools and regional theatres. Locations will include Canterbury, Bradford, Blackpool, Leicester, London and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It will then travel to the US to play Ohio State University.
With male actors playing female roles and vice versa, this First Encounter production uses an edited version of the original text.
RSC associate artists Katy Stephens and Forbes Masson will take the lead roles, Stephens as Petruchio and Masson as Katherine.
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.
Director Michael Fentiman says, “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.”
The tour of The Taming of the Shrew forms part of the RSC’s learning and performance network, a three-year touring and education partnership with five regional theatres and their local schools: Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury; Alhambra Theatre, Bradford; The Grand Theatre, Blackpool; Curve, Leicester; and the New Vic in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
RSC director of education Jacqui O’Hanlon adds, “Our First Encounter series for young audiences aims to give children and young people a vivid and enjoyable first experience of Shakespeare’s work.
“The Taming of the Shrew is a provocative play that I hope will challenge, intrigue and ultimately delight audiences of all ages, but particularly the young people for whom it’s been created.”
The production is an integral part of Young Shakespeare Nation, created by the RSC in partnership with the Prince of Wales' charity The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts.
The initiative invites schools, students and teachers across the UK to join the RSC on a journey through Shakespeare’s plays, giving a new generation of students the chance to discover and experience the breadth of his work.