Marking the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising and the role of women in the fight for independence, Caroline Byrne’s production of The Taming Of The Shrew at Shakespeare’s Globe will feature an entirely Irish cast.
Kathy Rose O’Brien, who earned an Irish Theatre Award nomination for her performance Druid Theatre Co and Royal Court’s Leaves, will play Katherine, with former Holby City star Edward MacLiam as Petruchio.
Imogen Doel, who was last seen on the London stage playing Cecily Cardew opposite David Suchet in The Importance Of Being Earnest, will play Tranio. Genevieve Hulme-Beaman (You Never Can Tell and Pride And Prejudice, Dublin’s Gate Theatre) plays Bianca.
The Irish cast is completed by Aaron Heffernan, Helen Norton, Amy Conroy, Louis Dempsey, Sean Fox, Colm Gormley, Raymond Keane, Gary Lilburn, Molly Logan and Ayoola Smart.
The Taming Of The Shew, which runs at Shakespeare’s Globe from 13 May to 6 August, is one of the Bard’s most controversial plays and follows two sisters, Bianca and Kate. While Bianca can’t wait to be married, Kate can’t think of anything worse. But their father won’t let Bianca wed until her sibling has first been walked down the aisle. Enter Petruchio, the arrogant, stubborn man who might just take on Kate to win a bet.
The Taming Of The Shrew plays at Shakespeare’s Globe as part of the Wonder Season, new Artistic Director Emma Rice’s first summer of shows at the iconic venue. Also set to entertain Bankside audiences in the season are A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, a new version of Cymbeline entitled Imogen, The Merchant Of Venice and Kneehigh hit 946 – The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips.