THE TAMING OF THE SHREW Runs Now thru 4/12 at Monarch Tavern

The Taming of the Shrew runs from tonight, April 9-12, 2015 at the Monarch Tavern, 12 Clinton Street, Toronto, ON, just south of College Street.

In July 2012, James Wallis stepped onto the Toronto Fringe Festival stage and turned his dream into a reality. Shakespeare BASH'd electrified audiences with its production of The Taming of the Shrew, leading to a sold out run, capped off by being named Best of Fringe. Three years later, and with five sold out productions to his company's credit, Wallis returns to the role that has helped define his career as one of Toronto's premier classical actors, playing Petruchio to his now-wife, Julia Nish-Lapidus' Kate, in a raucous remount of The Taming of the Shrew.

"It's really special to be able to revisit this play with three years' of sold out shows under our belt," says Wallis. "Shakespeare BASH'd has grown, I've grown, and this city's appreciation of our work has grown so much since we debuted this production. Remounting it at the Monarch Tavern, with my wife once again playing Kate, seems like a fitting return to our roots, while also looking towards our future."

Remounting The Taming of The Shrew with half of the original cast presents a perfect metaphor for Shakespeare BASH'd. This award-winning production will be invigorated with new life from BASH'd stalwarts like Jeff Hanson and Christopher Fowler, all while Wallis and Nish-Lapidus reprise their critically acclaimed performances. Just as BASH'd has been aggressively expanding its roster of talented Toronto actors over the years, this production will reflect that stunning growth, providing the same madcap energy that audiences have come to expect of this company, all while informing the work with three years of rich and varied experience. "We're ecstatic about bringing our most acclaimed production to date to the Monarch Tavern," says Wallis. "This limited run will allow us to bring our audience back in time, while preparing them for the future of Shakespeare in Toronto."