Tuesday, 18th June 2002
The Merchant at Much Wenlock
by Samantha Hatton | |
|  | | The cast of The Merchant of Venice |
| | The 10th Much Wenlock Festival is in full swing and last night, The Shropshire County Drama Group took to the stage with an adaptation of Shakespeare's most controversial play, The Merchant of Venice. |
| | WEBLINKS | | Virtual Shropshire
Gives more details on events at the Much Wenlock Festival
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites. | | | SEE ALSO | | Romeo and Juliet at Shrewsbury Castle
The audience shivered like badly tuned diesel engines through three hours of Shakespearean tragedy...but the rain held off and that was the main thing!
Ludlow gears up for its 43rd festival
Stand by for two weeks of theatre, music and arts events as the 43rd annual Ludlow Festival gets under way.
What's on in Shropshire this month
It may be summer, but there's still plenty going on in theatres across Shropshire. See our complete guide to what's on at stage venues. | | | QUOTES | | Antonio, a merchant of Venice
"I hold the world but as the world... A stage where every man must play a part, And mine a sad one."
[I, i, 81-83] Portia, an heiress of Belmont
"The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth from heaven Upon the place beneath."
[IV, i, 190-193]
Shylock, a Jewish moneylender in Venice
"I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions?"
[III, i, 57-58] | |
| | The picturesque Church Green provided a magnificent outdoor setting with the ancient walls and trees forming a natural auditorium.
The talented and highly acclaimed Shropshire Drama Group lived up to their reputation with this modern dress production which was directed by Mike Kaiser.
The production stars Ken Allden as Shylock, the money-lending Jew who famously demands "a pound of flesh" in payment for a forfeited loan and Sonia Knight as Portia who's husband is to be chosen by lottery.
The cast gave an excellent performance that was professional, polished and thoroughly enjoyable with some lovely comic touches.
Given the look and feel of the 1980s, the play opened on the stock exchange floor with a flurry of buying and selling. It was an inspired and thoroughly appropriate echo of the 'greed is good' philosophy of the Thatcher era. With the merchants Antonio and Bassanio playing Gordon Gekho type dealers.
 | Simon Jones as Gratiano, Gordon Leech
as Launcelot Gobbo |
There were more 80s touches to come with the Cockney Lancelot - who could easily have had a brother called Rodney - played by Gordon Leech, whose flamboyant performance brought peels of laughter from the packed auditorium.
All the cast were excellent and the wealth of talent displayed cannot be praised highly enough. Peter Beechey's Antonio was played with clarity and pathos.
Ken Allden's Shylock managed to go far beyond caricature to portray a complex human being struggling with conflicting motives.
 | Sonia Knight as Portia,
Ken Allden as Shylock |
Sonia Knight's Portia was a superb blend of innocence, curiosity and shrewdness making her both authentically feminine without being overly sentimental. She had some beautifully timed comic expressions too that were put to good use behind the backs of her suitors.
Credit must also go to Dave Topham whose Manuel style Prince of Arragon was hilarious!
Congratulations to everyone involved in this tremendous production. Even Shylock would have thought it well worth the ducats! | | | |
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