BEST BEWARE MY STING

by Donna Latham

Laughter ensues when taming shrews! But what of the troublesome tropes Shakespeare mansplained? Alpha Petruchio is determined to keep his good lady wife Kate dicknotized and submissive. His servant Grumio, who moonlights as a sales rep for Fantasia Tickle Toys, cheers him on. Kate is a former ferocious shrew who caught feelings for Petruchio. She’s very nearly tamed, well on her way to a new identity as a sweet...

Laughter ensues when taming shrews! But what of the troublesome tropes Shakespeare mansplained? Alpha Petruchio is determined to keep his good lady wife Kate dicknotized and submissive. His servant Grumio, who moonlights as a sales rep for Fantasia Tickle Toys, cheers him on. Kate is a former ferocious shrew who caught feelings for Petruchio. She’s very nearly tamed, well on her way to a new identity as a sweet and docile housewife. It’s time to renounce shrewish ways—until O’Felia from the block seizes the moment. Who the hell wants to be tamed? What’s up with this gaslighting? It’s more than a disruption of the intestinal humors….

Semi-finalist for Utah Shakespeare Festival's Words Cubed
Grumio's monologue is anthologized in Smith and Kraus' The Best Men’s Stage Monologues, 2024.

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BEST BEWARE MY STING

Recommended by

  • Robert Weibezahl: BEST BEWARE MY STING

    A clever and oft hilarious 21st century riff on “The Taming of the Shrew” that turns it on its head with delicious feminist sting. Petruchio’s mansplaining, gaslighting, and other forms of psychological abuse are called to task when contemporary audience member O’Felia crashes the production and schools the initially compliant Kate on the way things ought to be. Latham brilliantly blends Shakespeare’s most famous lines with her own modern dazzling wordplay. Bravissimo!

    A clever and oft hilarious 21st century riff on “The Taming of the Shrew” that turns it on its head with delicious feminist sting. Petruchio’s mansplaining, gaslighting, and other forms of psychological abuse are called to task when contemporary audience member O’Felia crashes the production and schools the initially compliant Kate on the way things ought to be. Latham brilliantly blends Shakespeare’s most famous lines with her own modern dazzling wordplay. Bravissimo!

  • The Depot for New Play Readings: BEST BEWARE MY STING

    O’Felia has seen one too many productions of “Taming of the Shrew,” and this time, she takes action. Breaking the fourth wall, she directs the characters to rewind “Taming’s” most famous scenes and shows Kate how thoroughly Petruchio has brainwashed her. Latham knows her Shakespeare and understands abusers, but through creative storytelling, she treats heavy subject matter with a comedic touch, and the result is a clever and funny head-on collision of Elizabethan verse and sensibilities with 21st-century slang and feminism. Great roles for 4 actors. Highly recommended, especially for companies...

    O’Felia has seen one too many productions of “Taming of the Shrew,” and this time, she takes action. Breaking the fourth wall, she directs the characters to rewind “Taming’s” most famous scenes and shows Kate how thoroughly Petruchio has brainwashed her. Latham knows her Shakespeare and understands abusers, but through creative storytelling, she treats heavy subject matter with a comedic touch, and the result is a clever and funny head-on collision of Elizabethan verse and sensibilities with 21st-century slang and feminism. Great roles for 4 actors. Highly recommended, especially for companies that specialize in Commedia dell’arte.

  • Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn: BEST BEWARE MY STING

    It's about time Petruchio got what was coming to him! If you have a love/hate relationship with The Taming of The Shrew, then you definitely need to join O'Felia as she helps Kate retain her sense of self and saves her from gaslighting, mansplaining men! A true delight!

    It's about time Petruchio got what was coming to him! If you have a love/hate relationship with The Taming of The Shrew, then you definitely need to join O'Felia as she helps Kate retain her sense of self and saves her from gaslighting, mansplaining men! A true delight!

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Dean Productions Premiere the Play Podcast, L.A., Year 2022
  • Type Reading, Organization The Depot, Connecticut, Year 2021
  • Type Reading, Organization Fishlicker Improv, Ashland, WI, Year 2020
  • Type Reading, Organization 5th Floor Theatre, NYC, Year 2019
  • Type Workshop, Organization Rising Sun Performance Company NYC, Year 2019

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization Henderson Harbor Performing Arts Association, NY, Year 2023
  • Type Professional, Organization Dean Productions Premiere the Play Podcast, L.A., Year 2022