The Taming of the Shrew in performance reviewers as being extremely physical. Lunt and Fontanne were the most famous celebrity couple of the time, and their backstage fights were rumoured to be just as ferocious as their on-stage performances. So legendary did the tempestuous reputation of the couple become that Cole Porter's 1948 musical "Kiss Me, Kate", about a fiery couple attempting to stage an adaptation of "The Taming of the Shrew", was based on their real-life antics. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the play has been frequently staged all over the world. Some notable productions include: "The Shrew"s popularity on stage has continued
The Taming of the Shrew suggesting that whatever the relationship between the two plays, "The Shrew" was most likely written somewhere between 1590 (roughly when Shakespeare arrived in London) and 1594 (registration of "A Shrew"). However, it is possible to narrow the date further. A "terminus ante quem" for "A Shrew" seems to be August 1592, as a stage direction at 3.21 mentions "Simon," which probably refers to the actor Simon Jewell, who was buried on 21 August 1592. Furthermore, "The Shrew" must have been written earlier than 1593, as Anthony Chute's "Beauty Dishonoured, written under the title of Shore's wife" (published in June 1593)