Calgary’s Full Circle Theatre is flipping the script on a Shakespeare play, performing an adaptation that’s anything but a classic staging.

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare has a pretty controversial premise to the modern eye. The main plot follows a willful woman who must be placated and “tamed” before she can be convinced to marry.

However, mind games and physical manipulation of hunger and thirst for coerced betrothal just don’t play as well now as they did in the 1500s.

But Full Circle Theatre artistic director Erin Weir says while the show is problematic, they still wanted to do it because of the witty repartee.

“There are these amazing scenes, the banter, this is some of Shakespeare’s best banter,” she explained.

So they came up with a way to flip the script.

“I was like, you know what? Let’s just do it. Let’s just gender flip it, and we’ll see what happens,” Weir says.

“And maybe it’ll still be problematic. Like maybe it’ll still make people really mad, but at least people will be talking, and we’ll find something out.”

Another reason for the swap is more practical and works out well for the Calgary theatre community.

“There are so many talented femme-presenting actors in Calgary who do not get opportunities,” Weir says. “Why are we going to do a show where we have to cast fifteen male presenting actors?”

She says the flip changes the way scenes play out and shifts the ending, too. In the original, the romance between the leads is questionable. Here, with a man playing Catharina, renamed Cade, the dynamic leans toward genuine connection.

In true Full Circle Theatre fashion, this adaptation is anything but a classic Shakespeare staging.

Director and dramaturge Kaylee Rigget expands the concept by relocating the play to a “romantasy” setting. Most of the characters are Fae and live in a fairy world.

Full Circle Theatre is an indie company that draws on professional talent as a space to play and experiment. Audiences can expect a labour of love driven by professional skill and attention to detail.

The Taming of the Shrew runs at Vertigo’s Studio Theatre from Feb. 26 to March 5. Tickets can be found online.