FANS of the Bard can watch one of his most famous plays, then spend the summer learning acting skills of their own.

The latest production by the Leyland-based C'est Tous Theatre Company is the classic women's rights comedy, the Taming of the Shrew.

Then, thanks to C'est Tous' summer school, running in July and August, students can pick up tips from the experts and perform their own masterpiece at the end of the course. The play tells the story of Katherine the Cursed, a young woman who is causing her father, Baptista, all manner of problems as she refuses to get married.

Baptista needs to marry off Katherine, so will be able to marry off his youngest daughter. But she holds fast until she meets a man who promises to tame her.

Christine Appleby, who plays Catherine in the production, said: "Baptista cannot marry off his eldest daughter, because she is a shrew.

"In Elizabethan times, they were really really interested in shrews. Women weren't considered women until they had a man.

"The play is a comedy, but it has a dark side to it. Catherine doesn't like men, and swears at them and bashes them over the head.

"But a man comes along and decides he's going to tame her."

In Shakespeare's time the play was an up-to-date comment on women's rights.

Christine explained: "Back then women were property really. The name Kate was an insult, and meant household goods.

"But it's supposed to be a love story, and it's an excellent one for women's lib. Shakespeare always wrote his plays on what ever was going on politically at the time.

"There were lots of women taking men to court for being mistreated, so for Shakespeare to put this on would have been a real talking point."

The play tours the area from June 21, stopping off at local sites including the Worden Arts Centre, Worden Park, Leyland, and Rufford Old Hall. Each performance is opened with a pre-show talk.

For more information, and details on the groups summer school, running from July 22, ring C'est Tous on 431300.