Difficult women and dodgy blokes. This week on Critical Mash, we’re discussing The Taming of the Shrew, which has a new production at the Globe, and its musical imitator, Kiss Me, Kate at the Barbican Theatre.  On the agenda: theatre production, love in the face of societal judgement, romantic heroes, redemption and evolving cultural views on women.

Regular hosts Robert Thicknesse and Lucy Lethbridge are joined this week by Nichola McAuliffe, renowned Shakespearean actress, and winner of the 1988 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in Kiss Me, Kate, and Michael Billington, “Britain’s longest-serving theatre critic” and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts.