Globe Education Online

Shylock [John McEnery]. Photo: John Tramper

Portia, a wealthy heiress of Belmont, sets her suitors a challenge. He who wins it will win her hand; those who lose it will lose her hand and much more. In Venice, city of consumption, speculation and debt, Bassanio borrows money from Antonio to finance his attempt. Antonio, in turn, takes out a loan from the moneylender Shylock. The loan will be repaid when Antonio's ships return to the city. If they should fail and the money cannot be paid Antonio shall give to Shylock a pound of his own flesh. And they do fail. And Shylock will have his ‘bond’. Shakespeare dramatises the competing claims of tolerance and intolerance, religion and civil society, justice and mercy, in some of his most electrifying scenes, and in the character of Shylock created one of the most unforgettable outsiders in all theatre.

Cast

Dale Rapley – Antonio
Philip Cumbus –Bassanio
Leander Deeny – Leonardo
Nicholas Shaw – Lorenzo
Mark Rice-Oxley – Graziano
Adam Kay – Salerio
Cornelius Booth – Solanio
John McEnery – Shylock
Pippa Nixon – Jessica
Jim Bywater – Tubal
Craig Gazey – Lancelot
Jim Bywater – Gobbo
Michelle Duncan – Portia
Kirsty Besterman – Nerissa
Leander Deeny – Balthasar
Leander Deeny – Stefano
Christopher Obi – Prince of Morocco
Philip Bird – Prince of Aragon
Philip Bird – Duke of Venice

Directed by Rebecca Gatward

Discover the Play

Discover the actors' experiences making the production in Adopt An Actor:

Mark Rice-Oxley as Gratiano

Pippa Nixon as Jessica

Michelle Duncan as Portia

The Merchant of Venice was performed in 2007, as part of the Renaissance and Revoluton Season.