The performance of A Taming Of The Shrew was one Shakespeare would recognise; a bawdy, rollicking romp of cross-dressing acrobats in front of a crowd who drank, cheered and picnicked around them, indifferent to the bitter chill of a English spring.

No proscenium arch, no set speeches, no formal clothing but Globe -style theatre in the round with a troope of magnificent actors.

Sly, the chorus, turns reality into a fantasy,  as all is possible in this play-within-a-play, this dateless riot of social mores. No wonder the Stuarts and Victorians adapted Shakespeare, worrying about the portrayal of tough men, rough women and frank materialism.

Artistic director Nicholas Quirke had no such qualms and sent his Festival Shakespeare Company to demonstrate in exhilarating fashion the hearty high spirits of the Elizabethans.

Charlie Allen as Petruccio made Burton tame by contrast, a worthy mate for Katerina Elliott’s spiky shrew, crafty not cowed and ultimately obedient through respect. Wonderful were the accents of Joshua Crisp and Tomi May-Page, hilarious were the antics of Amy Sutton, Christina Wood, Tim Blissett and Carey Thring. Get thee hence; don’t miss this.