EVER wondered what married life would be like for Katherina in William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew once Petruchio had completely and utterly broken her strong will and spirit?

How would he treat her, this lady so delightfully labelled a shrew now she no longer had a thought or a voice of her own?

Would he be kind, or would he continue as he started, to ensure she never regained the ‘strong-will’ so despised by all the men in the play.

Well now is your chance to possibly find out. Naming the View, written and performed by Richard Curnow, ably abetted by Jules Hobbs, looks at one option.

Kate (Jules Hobbs) sits on a bench on the top of Cleeve Hill near Cheltenham trying to come to terms with her 30-year marriage to Pete, her modern-day Petruchio, when Horton, an old friend of both, also arrives.

What follows is a time-travelling, in-depth look at the real truth behind the misogynistic, self-centred, bully of a husband and his coercive control of his wife.

With unexpected twists and turns aplenty this isn’t a play for the faint-hearted, nor is it necessarily the life-affirming comedy it claims to be, despite several odd, but good moments of humour.

What it is though, is a strong, well-written play that is shamelessly unequivocal in its stance that behaviour like this isn’t in any way acceptable. Jules is brilliant as the wife returning back to the young woman she once was and Richard is superb playing both friend and husband.

Highlighting coercive control and shining a light into the dark, murky and horrific world of all domestic abuse, the play and players aim to bring awareness to people, some of whom might be living in similar situations.

Their aim is help people know they can get help. To this end the performance at the Pound Arts Centre in Corsham on Saturday (15th Sept) had representatives from the Gloucester Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS) for a Q&A session afterwards.

Both Richard and Jules want to take this play and it’s powerful message on the road to give those suffering from domestic abuse an opportunity, not just to see this thought-provoking play, but to see there is help and understanding out there as well.

Jules and Richard want to tour the play. If you can help with sponsorship or venues, please contact jules@findingthewill.com