The Royal Shakespeare Company presents First Encounter: The Taming of The Shrew

LIVE at the Grand Theatre Blackpool Thursday 27 February to Saturday 1 March 2014

The Grand Theatre is delighted to announce 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 Andronicus, Candide, As You Like It, King Lear and The Histories, for which she won WhatsOnStage’s Best Actress Award.

Forbes’ RSC credits include As You Like It, Romeo 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 Andronicus, Ahasverus 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.

First Encounter: The Taming of The Shrew

Grand Theatre Blackpool

Thursday 27 to Saturday 1 March 2014

Tickets £11.50, under 18s £7.50

School Groups only £6.00

 In line with legislation our £1.50 booking fee is now INCLUDED in all stated ticket prices. The Grand Theatre has an ‘open’ policy regarding the fees that is charges and what they are for.

Call Box Office on 01253 74 33 39 or visit blackpoolgrand.co.uk