A beggar (Sly) gets drunk and collapses outside
a tavern. He is discovered by a Lord and his
followers who all decide to play a prank on
him.
When Sly wakes up, they tell him that he is
a rich lord with a beautiful wife, and invite
him to watch a play, to which he agrees, although
he struggles to concentrate through it.
The play begins with a young gentleman named
Lucentio, who arrives in Padua with his loyal
servant, Tranio. They notice a nobleman called
Baptista, who has two very different daughters:
Bianca, the youngest who is beautiful and
obedient; and Katherina the eldest, who is
loud or 'shrewish'.
Lucentio immediately falls in love with Bianca.
Bianca already has two suitors: the elderly
Gremio and the younger, Hortensio.
Baptista declares that Bianca cannot marry
until her elder sister has a husband, which
makes the two men very depressed as Katherina
is seemingly unlikely to attract a suitable
mate.
Hortensio's friend, Petruchio, arrives in
Padua declaring that he needs a rich wife.
Hortensio suggests that he meet Katherina.
In a flash of wit and quick exchanges, Katherina
and Petruchio meet and, depending on how you
interpret the scene, share a lot of chemistry.
Petruchio calls her 'Kate' and concludes that
he will 'tame' her and make her his wife.
Katherina says she'd rather see him hanged
than go to church with him. Nevertheless,
Baptista agrees to the wedding.
In the meantime, Lucentio - now disguised
as Cambio, a schoolmaster - manages to seduce
Bianca, who agrees to marry him.
At last the day of Katherina's wedding arrives;
but Petruchio is nowhere to be seen. Katherina
grows angry and refuses to wait around all
day. When Petruchio eventually turns up, he
is dressed completely inappropriately, bringing
shame upon himself and his new bride.
Petruchio takes Katherina to his home, denying
her requests for food and clothes, and keeping
her up all night with noise and biblical recitals.
He even insists that she call the 'sun' the
'moon'.
Tired and fed up, Katherina agrees with her
husband. When they arrive at Bianca's wedding
banquet, the three men place a bet on who
has the most obedient wife.
So they each send a servant to call their
spouses to them.
First, Lucentio dispatches a servant to fetch
Bianca, who quickly returns with the message
that she is busy. Next, Hortensio sends a
servant to ask his wife to come to him. He
returns to say that his wife insists that
her husband go to her.
Finally, Petruchio sends his servant to command
Katherina into the chamber. She comes straight
away to the utter surprise of everyone in
the room. She then drags the other two women
along, as he declares 'come on and kiss me,
Kate'. They win the bet as everyone else looks
on in utter shock.
