The Malta Amateur Dramatics Club’s annual appointment with Shakespeare comes to a close this weekend, with the final performances of The Taming of the Shrew at San Anton Gardens.

The dynamic cast and crew have been delighted with the response from audiences, who have flocked to watch this energetic retelling of one of the Bard’s most popular comedies.

“The performance is ‘in the round’ so the audience is very close and can feel part of the action,” said director Polly March.

“This also means there’s no room for ‘acting’ – the cast have to be their characters and focus on the fantastic story they are telling.”

The play takes the standard story of Kate and Petruchio’s tumultuous relationship and gives it a slight twist. The director has set this as a ‘play within a play’ that is being performed by the Mazbugg Actors’ Drama Cooperative. The audience joins them for their dress rehearsal, which is part of the village festa.

“Don’t try to find Mazbugg on Google maps though,” quipped March.

The Taming of the Shrew is being staged at San Anton Gardens today and tomorrow at 8.30pm.