SHAKESPEARE'S great tale of the battle of the sexes will be the next production by Ledbury Amateur Dramatics Society.

The Taming of the Shrew comes to Ledbury Market Theatre, from Wednesday to Saturday, May 16-19.

The classic conflict between Kate, the plain-speaking wild cat and Petruchio, her would-be suitor, remains at the core of the production, but LADS has set the play in the 1930s - a period of growing female freedom.

"We did Twelfth Night a couple of years ago and that went really well. This play fitted in with what we are doing at the moment," said producer Paul Franklin.

"We're doing Stepping Out in the autumn, so this is a real contrast to that."

The 16-strong cast is a mixture of newcomers and established performers.Hanna Davies takes the role of Kate, Darren Skinner plays Petruchio, Ed Burton stars as Lucentio, and Katie Evans is Bianca.

Mr Franklin added: "A few new male actors come along, which is good, because there are 10 men in the production, and we've even got one lady from Spain in the show.

"We've got a really strong cast and rehearsals have been going really well."

Tickets cost £7 for adults and £4 for students and can be obtained from Ledbury Tourist Information Centre on 01531 636147.