Shakespeare, but in London’s gardens and squares? This is exactly what you can expect from not-for-profit theatre company ‘Shakespeare in the Squares’ who are touring the city again for Summer 2025. Since 2016 they have presented Shakespeare’s plays outside at various locations across the city and this year the company is taking on ‘The Taming of the Shrew’. The tour begins on 4th June and ahead of the first performance, I had the opportunity to ask director Toby Gordon some questions about the show.
What can you tell me about the early beginnings of Shakespeare in the Squares?
Shakespeare in the Squares began in 2016 with a production of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ touring 9 London gardens and squares. In the years following, our tour circuit has grown considerably. 2025’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ will visit 27 locations across the capital and play 33 performances. Our aim is to keep growing the reach of our productions – championing fun and accessibility across the Summer Season.
If you could describe the overall theatre going experience in one word, what would it be and why? How is watching a Shakespeare in the Squares show different to seeing Shakespeare’s plays at other venues?
The one word I would offer to sum up the Shakespeare in the Squares experience is cheer. Our productions channel the joyful exuberance of London in the summertime into Shakespeare’s plays and our fondly irreverent style aims to make the text as accessible as possible. We encourage our audiences to relish the opportunity to picnic, drink and be merry in the capital’s beautiful green spaces and our shows offer the chance to engage directly with the performers and setting. Our commitment to live music offers further entertainment and the musical selections compliment the play we have chosen.
The concept is ‘renowned for tailoring each performance to the individual venue’, how do you go about making changes or alterations for each London location?
Venue-specific changes and alterations are familiar territory for Shakespeare in the Squares and keep our wonderful cast and wider team on their toes! All the venues are geographically different and the team are encouraged to make use of plant life and features to flesh out the setting of the play. Audience interaction is a key part of what we do and the audience’s response should influence the performers and their engagement with the story. As director, my aim is to equip the team with a robust story that is flexible in the telling. This allows them to take advantage of the unique landscapes and audiences they will encounter on the tour.
This year you are presenting ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ at 27 venues. How did you come to decide that this is the play to showcase in 2025?
‘The Taming Of The Shrew’ was one of the first Shakespeare comedies I saw that made sense to me. The distinctive characters and language are recognisable to a contemporary audience. The play deals with themes of gender, relationships and family – all of which are resonant in 2025. Shakespeare in the Squares’ commitment to producing a *different* Shakespeare play each summer led me to examine which plays the company had not yet produced and Shrew stood out as a natural fit for our storytelling style and dedication to live music.
To what extent are you reimagining the text for the tour?
The text has been reimagined and introduces audiences to a close-knit group of characters rooted in the community of Padua, Italy. My cut strives to platform the women. Baptista is reimagined as mother to Katherina and Bianca. I’ve aimed to level out the balance of power between Katherina and Petruchio and to highlight that theirs is not the only relationship the play presents. The relationship between Bianca and Lucentio, for example, offers a more recognisably conventional romantic plotline. I am interested in the contrast illustrated when the vastly different relationships in the play are presented side by side.
What are you most looking forward to with presenting the show in such a vast number of locations?
I am particularly looking forward to sharing this production with audiences and seeing the response to our use of more modern music – pop classics from the 1950s and 1960s – which in turn influence the visual design and playing style. This music and its influence feels appropriate for Shakespeare in the Squares and I can’t wait to see how that integrates with our fantastically enthusiastic and lively audiences.
Experience some Shakespeare in London’s squares and gardens this summer
This production of the Shakespearean classic definitely sounds fresh and exciting, specifically the decisions to refocus the text on the female characters and the inclusion of pop music. It was brilliant to hear more about the show from Toby Gordon. Performances are scheduled from Wednesday 4th June to Saturday 12th July and tickets can be purchased via the Shakespeare in the Squares website.
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
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