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The Taming of the Shrew
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Frances Barber, Roger Allam, Alan Cox
- Length: 2 hrs and 17 mins
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The Taming of the Shrew
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Summary
Love and wit conquer all in Shakespeare's sparkling comedy of self-delusion and disguise.
Padua holds many suitors for the hand of fair Bianca, but Bianca may not be married until her spinster sister, Kate, is wed. Could any man be rash enough to take on Kate?
The witty adventurer Petruchio undertakes the task. While he sets about transforming Kate from foul-tempered termagant to loving wife, young Lucentio and his clever servant, Tranio, plot to win Bianca.
Frances Barber and Roger Allam are Kate and Petruchio. Lucentio is played by Alan Cox.
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What listeners say about The Taming of the Shrew
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-09-21
my opinion
the taming of the shrew love it favourite storie of William Shakespeare
narrated well
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LucyB
- 01-07-20
very funny with a surprising ending!
my children and I have laughed at listening to this. I wasn't familiar with the story except from Ten Things I Hate About You but I think I understood what was going on. Petruccioc and Kate were well cast!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Tad Davis
- 24-01-15
Problem play
The Taming of the Shrew is another early Shakespeare play, and it's one that makes me distinctly uncomfortable - maybe even more so than The Merchant of Venice, another "problem play."
It is, in my opinion, a misogynistic play. The spirited Kate has a few moments of tenderness with her crazy husband Petruchio, but only after she's been starved, deprived of sleep, and forced to debase herself in front of others. (To his credit, he never actually hits her, but that's setting the bar pretty low.) Many productions try to get around the implications by making it all seem ironic, but I've never been able to find that irony in the text.
(One of Shakespeare's fellow playwrights seemed to think the same thing, and wrote a sequel called The Tamer Tamed: Petruchio's second wife turns the tables on him.)
Not much irony in this production either; it's played straight. The cast is, as usual, first-rate, although Frances Barber is sometimes a little too shrill as Kate; granted the character is described repeatedly as a shrew, but there's shrewishness that's funny and shrewishness that's just unpleasant.
The other odd thing about the play is the appearance and disappearance of the "framing story" involving Christopher Sly. Shakespeare sets it up and then abandons it after a couple of scenes. Another play from the period provides a few other scenes with Sly, including an epilogue that neatly ties up the loose ends. Many recent productions, if they include the framing story at all, add these scenes. I suspect they were written by Shakespeare and intended to be part of the play, but Arkangel sticks to their guns (and their stated purpose) and omits them.
Not one of the more satisfying entries in the series, but the fault is mostly Shakespeare's.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S. Riggs
- 06-01-18
Very well done!
This is my favorite Shakespeare play. I love this performance. It's so easy to get lost in the play and lose track of time. I highly recommend this audio version!
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Paul Dion Brooks
- 21-12-19
funny meets disturbing
The intractable feminist confronts patriarchal social conditions. it's like an episode of Seinfeld in 1585. somehow politically correct, not politically, correct and funny all at the same time.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Laura Keenan
- 13-07-16
Enjoyable Performance
Great to listen as fully dramatized. As a modern female, I was a bit aghast at the moral of the story, but it's Shakespeare so what are ya gonna do. Easy and fun listen!
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- H. Chandler
- 22-02-15
Great performance, conflicted about storyline
First off, the performance was spectacular. I enjoyed the different tone and reading the actors brought. That said, I really think this play reflects more of a misogynist view point than I can tolerate in a comedy.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Bahlsy
- 23-04-19
no chapter markers
5 Star reading. 4 stars for lack of of scene/act breakdown. makes it hard to jump to different parts.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alex
- 21-03-17
great
I like the book it helped me for school since we were to read during school.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- C. Defnall
- 22-02-17
Loved it!
Great multi actor performance! True to the script. A great option if you can't see the play in person.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-05-22
Great homework help
It was very helpful to understand and get through my assignments. Great performances wonderful actors
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matt
- 08-07-18
Well done
The actors and music was wonderful! The entire production legitly made if fell like i was actually there. Well done!
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1 person found this helpful