The Woman's Prize, or the Tamer Tamed

John Fletcher

Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.5 stars; 4 reviews)

John Fletcher's comedy (probably written and performed around 1611) is a sequel to Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, in which, as the title suggests, the tamer will be tamed. Petruchio, the shrew-tamer, has been widowed, and marries a second wife, Maria, a "chaste witty lady." At the instigation of her cousin Bianca, and with the fellowship of her sister Livia, Maria decides to go on strike for equal rights, refusing to behave as a proper 17th century wife. Fletcher's play addresses the issue of men and women's roles within marriage, a controversial issue for his day. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)

Cast
Narrator/Bianca: Elizabeth Klett
Moroso: Leonard Wilson
Tranio: mb
Sophocles: DublinGothic
Jaques: Cliff Thompson
Rowland: Libby Gohn
Livia: Charlotte Duckett
Maria: Arielle Lipshaw
Petruchio: Kevin Green
Petronius: Algy Pug
Pedro: Timothy Ferguson
First Maid/Country Wife/Doctor: Caprisha Page
Second Maid/City Wife/Second Watch: Amanda Friday
Third Maid/First Watch/Servant: Grace Garrett

Audio edited by Elizabeth Klett (2 hr 34 min)