Messina, Sicily, 1958. Members of Italy’s most notorious crime family are assembling at Leonato’s estate. The wasteland of post-war Italy is making way for the seductive ‘Dolce Vita’. Life has never been so good. This is a world where the women are as beautiful as the men are dangerous; a world where image and reputation are everything, where style and superficial gratification take centre stage. But this is Sicily. The grip of honour, patriarchy, gossip and familial ties certainly hasn’t loosened, and any slip-up can have very serious consequences indeed…

Shakespeare’s comedy is re-imagined and re-fashioned by the best of Oxford University’s theatrical talent. Following on from the success of last year’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this is a production sure to impress, and not to be missed. The battle of the sexes has never been more explosive.

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Max Gill