Starting June 20, members of Capitol Hill's Balagan Theatre will be performing a classic of theater under the watchful eye of one of Seattle's most unique landmarks.

The actors will perform Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" on and around the Fremont Troll for theater fans, tourists and miscellaneous gawkers.

"Taming of the Shrew" director Elizabeth Eller directed "Romeo and Juliet" on the troll three years ago for Paper Trail Productions.

With that company in flux in the years since, there was no scheduled performance on the concrete giant this year.

Eller said she wanted to keep Shakespeare on the Troll going because it forges connections with people who don't normally attend theater. Balagan gave her the opportunity to do it.

Eller said she enjoys the way performing on a popular landmark opens up the process to the public.

"There's definitely tons of exhibitionism in it," she said. "We rehearse on the troll, and that's a public space. We have an audience from day one."

Productions usually close themselves off during the rehearsal period, but the cast and crew of "Taming of the Shrew" have to make their mistakes in front of people, Eller said.

She said passers-by will often stop and watch an hour of rehearsing the same scene because the process is unfamiliar and charming to them.

"It gets them invested in a way that no advertising could," she said.

Eller said the unique stage has its drawbacks.

"It's also very hard to stay focused in that environment," she said.

During rehearsals, tourists often walk up and ask actors to take their photos with the troll, sometimes in the middle of fight choreography, Eller said.

"It's like, 'Oh my God, you almost got hit,'" she said.

The troll also makes for an inflexible set, causing the cast and crew to try to balance safety and mobility around the sculpture, Eller said.

Eller has worked on a lot of Shakespeare productions, but never "Taming of the Shrew."

"I think it presents a lot of challenges because it has the potential to offend people based on its treatment of women," she said.

But, Eller said she doesn't see the story as being about abuse. She said in her view – the view she wants to communicate to audiences – it is a love story between two crazy people who may just be crazy enough to make it work.

"Taming of the Shrew" on the Fremont Troll plays at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from June 20 to July 12. The performance is free.

There will be no second performance at the troll on July 11. Instead, "Taming of the Shrew" will be performed at the Outdoor Theatre Festival in Volunteer Park.

The Fremont Troll is located at North 36th Street and Troll Avenue North under the north end of the Aurora Bridge.