The Taming of the Shrew does for women's rights what Bernard Matthews did for turkeys.

Nevertheless, in the hands of Chapterhouse Theatre Company, it brought a smile to the faces of male and female.

The roving players performed Shakespeare's riotous romcom in the medieval Donington le Heath Manor House, near Coalville, all the time defying the English weather to do its worst, which it did not, yielding only a brief cloudburst.

The "shrew" of the title is Katherina, who must be married off before her father will allow her sweet, pretty sister Bianca to be wed.

Out-of-towner Petruchio arrives as the suitor rising to the task of taming her.

Liz Taylor and Richard Burton set the sizzling standard for the unlikely lovers in the screen version of 1967, but Chapterhouse's Kirsty Worthington was fabulously feisty in her sharp-tongued role and Adam Grayson captured an appealing affability as her suitor.

It was a highly polished and professional production, although curiously, 19 of the 23 characters in this production were played by women, with most playing several parts.

With its medley of mixed identities, scheming and trickery it was quick paced and full of fun.

It brought a night of love to Leicestershire, albeit in a way which today would be grounds for a non-molestation order.