Act 1, Scene 1 begins the play that’s performed for Sly. The play is set in the Italian city of Padua, where a young nobleman, Lucentio, and his servant, Tranio, have just arrived. Lucentio has come to Padua to study virtue and philosophy. Just after they arrive, they eavesdrop on a nearby conversation. Baptista, a local nobleman, is explaining to two other noblemen, Gremio and Hortensio, that his youngest daughter, Bianca, can’t be courted for marriage until his oldest daughter, Katherine, is married. But Gremio and Hortensio find Katherine to be incredibly disagreeable, so they’re only interested in marrying Bianca. Baptista asks the two suitors for help finding music and poetry teachers for his daughters, as a way for them to spend their time until Katherine gets married. After Baptista and his daughters leave, Hortensio gets Gremio to agree that the best way forward is to find a husband for Katherine so that they can get back to courting Bianca.

Meanwhile, Lucentio has fallen head over heels in love with Bianca from afar, and Tranio has to remind him that it’s not going to be easy to court her, because the other daughter needs to be married first. But then they both get the same idea: Lucentio can pretend to be a schoolmaster and act as Bianca’s tutor, while Tranio pretends to court Bianca as Lucentio. The two swap outfits. A second servant of Lucentio’s, Biondello, shows up, and he’s immediately confused by the change of clothes. Rather than tell him what just happened, Lucentio makes up a story that he killed somebody and needs to be disguised in order to escape, and so Biondello agrees to play along.

The scene ends with a servant asking Sly how he’s liking the play so far. Sly says he thinks it’s excellent, but he clearly wishes it were over already.