Yorkshire’s celebrated theatre company Northern Broadsides visit the Liverpool Everyman between 30 March and 3 April 2004 with a compelling new production of Shakespeare’s gripping drama, The Merchant Of Venice. Artistic Director and founder of the company, Barrie Rutter, chooses to work with Northern actors who perform in their natural voices, breaking the southern stranglehold on ‘received pronunciation’ and allowing the audience to hear the words afresh. A ground-breaking idea when the company was formed in 1992, this unique approach continues to impress audiences and critics alike. The cast for this production includes Claire Calbraith (Dr Summerbee in ITVs Heartbeat) as Portia, Richard Standing (ITVs Coronation Street and BBC 1s The Doctors) as Bassanio, and Jonathan Le Billon (Brian ‘the Goth’ in Hollyoaks). Founder/director Barrie Rutter will play Shylock the moneylender – one of Shakespeare’s most complex and compelling characters. The Merchant of Venice is very much a play for out time; evoking a world dominated by money and populated by characters corrupted by vice and greed. Racial prejudice rears its ugly and ever-present head as Christian and Jew become locked in a bitter battle that escalates to tragic proportions. Add to this a company of versatile performers who perform music live on stage and sing acapella, and the result is an entertaining and imaginative production.
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