Welcome to the RSC's new series of Play Guides.

The Guides are designed to open up the work of the RSC and to help audiences understand more about the process of interpreting Shakespeare and staging plays.

They are particularly aimed at teachers and students but we hope they will prove useful and accessible to all theatre-goers and to those who want to know more about RSC productions.

This Guide on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (1592) and The Tamer Tamed (1611) by John Fletcher has been written to complement Gregory Doran's productions of the plays at the RSC in 2003. Commentary in the first section, therefore, focuses on these particular interpretations of the plays.

All references in this guide are to the new Penguin Edition.

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