Site-Specific Outdoor TAMING OF THE SHREW at Toronto Fringe 2019

Aquarius Players presents a site-specific 90 minute production of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. Performed at St. George the Martyr (30 Stephanie St., Toronto) The Taming of the Shrew runs July 3rd - 14th, evening performances at 7pm and weekend performances at 2pm with Monday dark. Tickets are $11 are available online or by phone (416-966-1062) or at the Festival Box Office (275 Bathurst St., Noon-10pm) or cash only at the door one hour before performance time.

The Taming of the Shrew is set in Padua, Italy. The play begins with Lucentio of Pisa and his servant Tranio arriving to go to university when they observe a strange sight: Signor Baptista is being hounded by his two neighbours because he has two daughters eligible for marriage. Hortensio and Gremio are both vying for the younger Bianca and want nothing to do with the elder Katherine, whom they consider ill-tempered. But until the elder is married, Bianca is off-limits, so they agree to try and find a suitor for the angry shrew. When they leave, Lucentio declares his love for Bianca and forgets all about his studies. Instead he switches clothes with his servant and instructs Tranio to present himself as another suitor under his master's name while he tries to win Bianca's love disguised as a tutor. Then Petruchio of Verona arrives to visit his friend Hortensio and tells him that his father has passed away and he is looking for a wife. When Hortensio informs him about the rich but scolding Katherine, Petruchio wastes no time in presenting himself to Baptista convinced that he's the man to tame her. Shakespeare's comedy seems inspired by stock characters of commedia dell'arte as applied to a classic folk tale.

The Taming of the Shrew is directed by Nicole Arends, with text adapted by Chris Coculuzzi, Costume Design by Elaine O'Neal, and Stage Managed by Kate Dowdall. This production features Chris Coculuzzi as Petruchio and Alexandra Milne as Kate. It also features Daryn DeWalt as Gremio/Vincentio, Scott Moore as Baptista, Chris Irving as Hortensio/Pedant, Elaine O'Neal as Grumio/Widow, Paige Madsen as Tranio, Michael Pearson as Lucentio, Greta Whipple as Bianca, and features the sax-playing talent of Christina Leonard as Biondello.

The name Aquarius Players was designed to embrace a group of artists coming together under an agreed creative project. For purposes of this production, the genesis came from a creative collaboration between director Nicole Arends and adaptor Chris Coculuzzi. Both have a history of site-specific productions at the Fringe dating back to 2001. And the last collaboration between Arends and Coculuzzi was a production of Hamlet (Upstart Crow, 2001).

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