The Taming of the Shrew 

A young harridan MP marries a title in order to advance towards her goal of becoming party leader.

Director:

David Richards

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play), Sally Wainwright (screenplay)

Stars:

Shirley Henderson, David Mitchell, Simon Chandler

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Shirley Henderson	...	Kate Minola
David Mitchell	...	Tim Agnew
Simon Chandler	...	John Naps
Jaime Murray	...	Bianca Minola
Federico Zanni	...	Tranio
Santiago Cabrera	...	Lucentio
Stephen Tompkinson	...	Harry
Twiggy	...	Mrs. Minola (as Twiggy Lawson)
Yves Aubert	...	French Waiter
Rufus Sewell	...	Petruchio
Paul McNeilly	...	Scary Yob
Samuel Oatley	...	Journalist
Bruce Mackinnon	...	Vicar
Kate Russell-Smith	...	Elaine
David Weber	...	Barman

Storyline

Katherine is extremely abrasive in her dealings with everyone, both in Parliament and her personal life. Her sister Bianca couldn't be more different -- a popular model whom everyone loves. Bianca's long time manager wants to marry her; in order to put him off she says she won't marry until her sister is wed (a prospect she knows will keep her safe.) So her manager arranges his friend -- who is a titled Earl -- to meet and marry Kate and the battle is on.

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Plot Keywords:

power play | shakespeare's the taming of the shrew | based on play | parliament | man cooking for woman | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2005 (UK)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Drama Group,British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),Horsebridge Productions Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

They prepared 3 tables and 3 carpets for the scene in which Katherine flips the table over. Each had glasses made of sugar glass and wax plates. All the meals had to be salad so that the food wouldn't melt the plates. Luckily they did it in one take and were able to move out the restaurant so that it could open for lunch.

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Goofs

As Harry and Petruchio are getting out of the elevator Harry says, 'You're mad,' and Petruchio begins to adjust his pants. The camera goes to the next shot and Petruchio's hands are back down at his side, and begins to adjust his pants once again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Kate: Fathead!
[she slaps him]
Tim Agnew: You hit me!
Kate: You gave me that information. You made me look like a political pygmy, on Newsnight. Your job, in case you weren't concentrating, is to make sure I know what I'm pigging well talking about!
Tim Agnew: You're out of order, Katherine. I'm sorry, but good grief!
Kate: And you're sacked! No wonder this party has been the opposition for the last ten million light years!
Tim Agnew: You can't sack me, and, frankly, I'd appreciate an apology. Otherwise...
Kate: Otherwise?
Tim Agnew: If we're to ...
[...]

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Connections

Version of Second Best Bed (1938)

User Reviews

Charming and entertaining

I'm not a big fan of Shakespeare. Never got into the whole phenom. If it weren't for the fact that Rufus Sewell was starring with Shirley Henderson, I probably would not have bothered watching this.

But I'm glad I did. It's completely charming, captivating, odd, and extremely entertaining. Rufus and Shirley are seriously the wildest characters I've ever seen put together on television. The strangest thing is, the chemistry actually worked. By the end of the film, everything just felt right. I smiled and clapped for these characters, because despite the odds, they found and accepted each other.

This is the second time I've been introduced to Rufus Sewell, and I do hope to see him lots in the future. I've never seen a man dressed in drag still look that attractive.