Taming of the Shrew, The

Alternative title
The Shakespeare Plays
Synopsis
Television production of the play, with John Cleese as Petruchio and Sarah Badel as Katherina.
Series
BBC Television Shakespeare
Language
English
Country
Great Britain; United States
Medium
Television
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Recording date
18 Jun 1980
Transmission details
23 Oct 1980 at 21:30 (Channel: BBC2)
Duration
125 mins

Credits

Director
Jonathan Miller
Producer
Jonathan Miller
Writer
William Shakespeare
Music
Stephen Oliver
Costume
Alun Hughes
Art Direction
Colin Lowrey
Contributor
David Snodin
Cast
Sarah BadelKatharina (Katherina)
John CleesePetruchio (Petruchio)
John Franklyn-RobbinsBaptista (Baptista Minola)
Susan PenhaligonBianca
Anthony PedleyTranio
Alan HayTailor
Angus LennieCurtis
Bev WillisBaptista’s servant (Servant)
David KincaidGrumio
David KinseyHaberdasher
Denis GilmorePeter
Derek DeadmanNicholas
Frank ThorntonGremio
Gil MorrisPhilip
Harry WatersBiondello
Harry WebsterNathaniel
Joan HicksonWidow
John BarronVincentio
Jonathan CecilHortensio
Leslie SaronyGregory
Simon ChandlerLucentio

Additional Details

Production type
Television and Radio Drama
Historical period
Renaissance Italy
Plays
Taming of the Shrew, The
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
drama in English; performances; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Related items
Taming of the Shrew, The
Taming of the Shrew, The

Notes

Notes
The production is commercially available on DVD as part of the BBC TV SHAKESPEARE COLLECTION box set (see separate entry).
History
This production is part of the third season (producer: Jonathan Miller). Recording took six days.
Stills
The setting recalls Sebastiano Serlio’s comic scene sketches while the interior design is influenced by 17th century Dutch paintings.
Textual information
In this BBC production producer/director Jonathan Miller decidewd to cut the Christopher Sly ‘Induction’.

Between 1978 and 1986 the BBC published individual scripts of the series. Each volume of The BBC TV Shakespeare, ed. Peter Alexander et al. (London: British Broadcasting Corporation) contains the full text of the play (the Peter Alexander edition) with accompanying notes on the scene breaks and cuts made in the production, as well as a glossary. A general introduction to the play by series literary advisor John Wilders is followed by an essay on the production of the play by Henry Fenwick. This is based on interviews with actors, directors, and designers.
Reviews
Susan Willis, The BBC Shakespeare Plays: Making the Televised Canon (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991).

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Name

Time-Life Films Inc

Phone
0101 201 843 4545
Address
PO Box 644
NJ 07652
USA

Distributor

Name

BBC Store

Web
https://store.bbc.com/ External site opens in new window
Notes
NB. From May 2017 programmes are no longer available to buy on BBC Store. From November 1st 2017 the store will close completely and programmes bought from BBC Store will no longer be available to watch. Customers who have bought items from BBC Store will be contacted by email and refunded for their purchases either by full cash refund or Amazon video vouchers.

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Taming of the Shrew, The". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/21073 (Accessed 25 Nov 2024)