In 1966, Taylor and Burton performed "Doctor Faustus" for a week in Oxford to benefit the Oxford University Dramatic Society; he starred and she appeared in her first stage role as Helen of Troy, a part which required no speaking. Although it received generally negative reviews, Burton produced it as a film, "Doctor Faustus" (1967), with the same cast. It was also panned by critics and grossed only $600,000 in the box office. Taylor and Burton's next project, Franco Zeffirelli's "The Taming of the Shrew" (1967), which they also co-produced, was more successful. It posed another challenge for Taylor, as she was the only actor in the project with no previous experience of performing Shakespeare; Zeffirelli later stated that this made her performance interesting, as she "invented the part from scratch". Critics found the play to be fitting material for the couple, and the film became a box-office success by grossing $12 million.