THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
by William Shakespeare
TUE 6 - SAT 10 APRIL 2027, 7.30PM
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Sheep Street, Northampton NN1 3NL
Justice, mercy and the price of a promise.
AUDITIONS
Friday 29 January 2027 at 7.30pm
Masque Theatre, 9 Burns Street, Northampton, NN1 3QE
Masque Theatre hold open auditions and welcome new actors and supporting crew. But if cast, you will be required to join the company. Before attending, please make sure you can attend rehearsals and the performances.
Below are more details about the auditions. Contact the director, Rob Kendall on 01604 711317 or by email.
PREVIEW
A pound of flesh; a debt to pay
Rob Kendall, director
“The quality of mercy is not strained - it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath" Act IV.
This quotation form Portia’s speech (who is acting as a lawyer in the trial over Shylock’s claim for his pound of flesh for Antonio’s faulty debt) is a thread that runs through the play.
The story is about justice and honour and also about the mores of Venetian society and Shylock’s place as a Jew. It is also about the vagaries of fortune as well as about the right to marry who you ‘love’ - whether Christian or Jew.
To some extent these themes are as universal as they were in Shakespeare’s day. The trial scene in particular shows this. But the bonds of love, friendship and, even comedy, are there too.
For this reason, I’ve brought the performance of the play more into the 20th Century and set it in the Venice of the late 1920s when Mussolini had established his ‘Fasci Italiani’ political power group which created some of the attitudes we still see today. As it happens the play has a happy ending for those who are in ‘love’, but not necessarily one for Shylock.
Cast
- Antonio - a merchant of Venice (30s upwards)
- Bassanio - his friend; suitor to Portia
- Portia - Lady of Belmont
- Shylock - the Jew of Venice (30s upwards)
- Gratiano - friend of Antonio and Bassanio
- Salerio - friend of Antonio and Bassanio
- Salanio - friend of Antonio and Bassanio
- Lorenzo - in love with Jessica (late teens upwards)
- Nerissa - Portia’s Lady in Waiting
- Jessica - daughter of Shylock (late teens upwards)
- Leonardo - servant of Bassiano
- Balthasar / Stephano - servants to Portia
- Launcelot Gobbo - servant to Shylock
- Old Gobbo - father of Launcelot (50s upwards)
- Prince of Morocco - suitor to Portia
- Prince of Arragon - suitor to Portia
- Duke of Venice - Court Judge
- Magnificoes of Venice / Gaoler / Attendants, etc
Text for Auditions
Act I Scene 1: Antonio/Solanio/Lorenszo/Bassanio.
Act I Scene 2: Portia/Nerissa.
Act II Scene 6: Lorenzo/Jessica. (from Lorenzo’s entry)
Act III Scene 1: Salanio/Salerio/Shylock.
Some rolls may be gender-blind casting
If you are interested in auditioning for this exciting play and can’t make the audition date, or you want to know more about the production, please contact me so we can audition/chat at some other time.
SEE ALSO
Previous Masque productions of The Merchant of Venice:
2007 | 1993 | 1982 | 1966 | 1948
All our shows
This production is directed by Rob Kendall. He has also directed: Edward the Second (2025), Shadowlands (2025), David Copperfield (2022), The Maids (2021), A Christmas Carol (2018), Hamlet (2018), The Bacchae (2018), Henry V (2016), The Importance pf Being Earnest (2016), The Lion in Winter (2015), Becket (2014), Troilus and Cressida (2014), Margot (2013), Nicholas Nickleby (2012), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (2012), Romeo & Juliet (2011), Great Expectations (2010), The Cherry Orchard (2010), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2009), Trainspotting (2008), Mother Courage And Her Children (2007), Twelfth Night (2005), Bent (2004), Hell Cab (2004), Murder in the Cathedral (2002), A View From The Bridge (2002), Entertaining Mr Sloane (2000), East (1998), A Streetcar Named Desire (1997) and Antony and Cleopatra (1996)
