The clowns in “Shrew” are irritating rather than witty, and the framing device adds little. She's been bullying her family and servants, so we don't feel terribly sorry for her when she receives the same treatment from her new husband. What “saves” the play is Katherine's own sheer nastiness, as evidenced by her unwarranted brutality to both her sister and her tutor. Katherine and Petruchio may or may not be suited to each other, but we'll never know because Petruchio has all the power and no qualms about using it.
Bianca and her swain actually spend very little time together, but it's plenty. As with “Much Ado About Nothing,” though, “The Taming of the Shrew” features one interesting couple and one dull one. Done “right,” this is a very entertaining play – I particularly enjoyed the BBC's “Shakespeare Retold” version, starring Shirley Henderson and Rufus Sewell. Well, Toto, we're a long way from Beatrice and Benedick here, that's for sure! This is among the plays that are Much better watched than read, if only because directors and actors can make subtle adaptations and add nuance to situations and characters who are, as written, fairly brutal and unattractive.
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