I stopped going to the “Bard in the Botanics” alfresco summer Shakespeare season a few years back because I thought the quality of the productions made them unworthy of the attention of Times readers. It is therefore a pleasure to report some distinct improvements, not least in the quality of the picnics. We may not have the climate for Glyndebourne in the West of Scotland but the catering arrangements are doing their best.

Happily, the shows, on the evidence of the first of the three this year, have come on too. You might expect productions to take advantage of the sylvan setting but this particular Shrew is more conventional, with a single set against a nondescript wall of one of the glass houses, with a grassy bank to watch from.

The shortage of available resources is still apparent in the one threadbare-looking set that has to do for everywhere, apart from one scene that is entertainingly played out in the midst of the audience. There are modern-dress costumes, too, for the most part looking as if they have been culled from the actors’ wardrobes.

But the marvel of Shakespeare is such that none of that matters if the actors have grasped the meaning of what they are saying. And the real change in the overall quality of the production is in the casting and acting. Many of the cast are, as before, recent drama-school graduates but it must have been a good year because cast members such as Ben Winger as Tranio and Amie Burns Walker as Bianca have some real presence.

The star is undoubtedly the more experienced Grant O’Rourke as Petruchio, a, stout, hard-drinking type who nevertheless keeps his wits far sharper drunk than those around him can manage sober. He certainly doesn’t give a fig for convention; that’s what Kate, played with some dignity by a crop-haired Jennifer Dick, spots when he first turns up and that’s what wins her over.

The only problem is that, such are the cuts made by the director, Gordon Barr, that winning her does not seem so much of a challenge. Some of the best arguments have been excised so that Petruchio’s “taming” seems almost unnecessary. It might have been better to lose a couple of sub-plots. Still, while it might not be the most profound interpretation, there is some energetic playing and pacey direction and the whole confection bowls along at an enjoyable clip.

Box office: 0141-429 0022, to July 11

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