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The Taming of the Shrew as a Problem(atic) Play Next to The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare’s The Taming of The Shrew is probably one of the hardest plays to stage/film in the 21 st century due to its misogynist content dressed up in the form of a comedy. Comparing how the recent production in the Stefan Jaracz Theatre (2007-2013), Łodź, Poland, and a Hollywood off-shoot 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) update the play’s gender wars for a specifically teenage audience will show how misguided the Polish production was compared to its Hollywood counterpart. The analysis of critical and audience responses to the two modernisations of the play will further illuminate the discrepancies between Shakespeare criticism, critical reception and audience readings, proving how continually problematic and controversial the play and its theatrical/cinematic incarnations may be. In his Introduction to the play, G.R. Hibbard (1996, 40) notices, as many others before and after him, “The Taming of the Shrew, like The Merchant of Venice, is one of those plays by Shakespeare that some critics rather wish wasn’t by him. Most books on the play record varying degrees of discomfort with what seems to be its rambunctious sexism.” To pinpoint that the theme of gendered inequality at the heart of the play is too heavy and serious for the world of comedy, Charles Marowitz’s appropriation of the play—The Shrew, 1973, shows Petruchio raping Kate before she delivers her final declaration of submission. The idea of dissonance between subject-matter and genre seems to be further supported by a remark by Ann Thompson (2003, 21), who considers it is more appropriate to talk about The Taming as a modern problem play in the light of divided opinions it has generated and continues to generate. When it comes to performance, some contemporary actresses also express their “problem” with the play, finding Katherina’s part especially challenging. For instance, Josie Lawrence (qtd. in O’Connor 276), Kate in the RSC

Holding a Mirror up to Nature? Adapting "The Taming of the Shrew" for Teenagers and Pedagogy