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In this BBC full-cast production of The Merchant of Venice, love, bigotry, greed, and justice are entwined. Shakespeare's classic play explores the eternal themes of love and hate, mercy and justice, with parallel stories centred on the moneylender, Shylock, and the lovers, Portia and Bassanio. Shylock's angry insistence on the repayment of his debt from Bassanio ends in the Venetian courts, where he demands his pound of flesh. Portia meanwhile, a wealthy young Venetian woman, must marry one of her many suitors. Her late father's will has set the challenge by means of three caskets: one gold, one silver and one lead. Warren Mitchell stars as Shylock, with Martin Jarvis as Antonio, Samuel West as Bassanio and Juliet Aubrey as Portia. This superb production of Shakespeare's dramatic and complex play is directed by the award-winning Peter Kavanagh, and features specially-composed music by the renowned Barrington Pheloung. BBC radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly-formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard. In this acclaimed BBC Radio Shakespeare series, each play is introduced by Richard Eyre, former Director of the Royal National Theatre. Revitalised, original and comprehensive, this is Shakespeare for the modern day.
In this BBC full-cast production of The Merchant of Venice, love, bigotry, greed, and justice are entwined. Shakespeare's classic play explores the eternal themes of love and hate, mercy and justice, with parallel stories centred on the moneylender, Shylock, and the lovers, Portia and Bassanio. Shylock's angry insistence on the repayment of his debt from Bassanio ends in the Venetian courts, where he demands his pound of flesh. Portia meanwhile, a wealthy young Venetian woman, must marry one of her many suitors. Her late father's will has set the challenge by means of three caskets: one gold, one silver and one lead. Warren Mitchell stars as Shylock, with Martin Jarvis as Antonio, Samuel West as Bassanio and Juliet Aubrey as Portia. This superb production of Shakespeare's dramatic and complex play is directed by the award-winning Peter Kavanagh, and features specially-composed music by the renowned Barrington Pheloung. BBC radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly-formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard. In this acclaimed BBC Radio Shakespeare series, each play is introduced by Richard Eyre, former Director of the Royal National Theatre. Revitalised, original and comprehensive, this is Shakespeare for the modern day.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
About the Author-
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, and was baptised on 26 April 1564. His father was a glove maker and wool merchant and his mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a well-to-do local land owner. Shakespeare was probably educated in Stratford's grammar school. In 1582 he married Anne Hathaway, and the couple had a daughter the following year and twins in 1585.
Shakespeare's theatrical life seems to have commenced around 1590. We do know that he was part of the Lord Chamberlain's Company, which was renamed the King's Company in 1603 when James I succeeded to the throne. The Company acquired interests in two theatres in the Southwark area of London, near the banks of the Thames - the Globe and the Blackfriars.
Shakespeare's poetry was published before his plays, with two poems appearing in 1593 and 1594, dedicated to his patron Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. Most of Shakespeare's sonnets were probably written at this time as well.
Records of Shakespeare's plays begin to appear in 1594, and he produced roughly two a year until around 1611. His earliest plays include Henry VI and Titus Andronicus. A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice and Richard II all date from the mid to late 1590s. Some of his most famous tragedies were written in the early 1600s; these include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Antony & Cleopatra. His late plays, often known as the Romances, date from 1608 onwards and include The Tempest.
Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. The first collected edition of his works was published in 1623 and is known as 'the First Folio'.
Reviews-
May 19, 2008 Fans of the play will find this an intriguing adaptation. Hinds sets his version in modern dress and dramatically edits the text to the basics while keeping the Shakespearean flavor of the dialogue (increasingly as the book goes on). The coloring in shades of slate blue and pale gray gives it an antique patina that's counterbalanced by the way Hinds leaves construction lines visible. That makes it feel like reading someone's unpolished sketchbook, as though the characters were observed, not created. It's always a benefit to see Shakespeare acted out, to make the universal situations clear to the modern viewer, and that benefit extends to the graphic medium, especially when the characters have a sense of motion, as here. Some aspects of the original are still discomforting; Hinds is faithful to the play in its treatment of the bloodthirsty, money-hungry Shylock, and some readers may be put off by the inclusion of lines such as \x93you may be pleased to collect whatever usurious interest pleases your Jew heart.\x94 An author's note encourages further research on that matter and clarifies some of Hinds's creative decisions.
Transforming any play into sound alone is a challenge, and one that is met by this Arkangel production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, part of its series of dramatized recordings of Shakespeare's works. Like many of Shakespeare's comedies, MERCHANT is at its core a love story, but it is far more than that. The play is a controversial examination of justice, mercy, and prejudice. All the actors give strong performances, although it's somewhat difficult at times to distinguish between the voices of Bassanio and Antonio, played by Julian Rhind-Tutt and Bill Nighy. Trevor Peacock's portrayal of Shylock stands out among those of a solid cast. Peacock uses a sly voice for Shylock, saving his best for the comedy's climactic courtroom scene. D.J.S. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
Two worlds contrast in this problematic Shakespearean opus--sordid, mercantile Venice, where the usurer Shylock exacts a pound of flesh for collateral, and the magic island of the virtuous, clever Portia, whose father has set a fairy tale challenge for her suitors. The play is nearly impossible to perform in its original character--not only because of its manifest anti-Semitism, but because, with the exception of Portia, the good guys are no more pleasant than the villain. Nonetheless, the so-called comedy enjoys frequent revivals. In this CBC production, part of its Stratford Festival series, the producers have opted to give it no character whatsoever. While the production is meticulous, the acting is bland. The performers do little to clearly interpret the Elizabethan diction for listeners--again with the exception of Portia (Lucy Peacock), and her companion, Nerissa (Sarah Dodd). Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
Shakespeare's sometimes-disturbing play tells the story of Shylock, a Jewish moneylender who, insisting on a "pound of flesh" to settle a debt, is instructed in "the quality of mercy." The work receives a solid but unremarkable performance here. Anthony Sher plays Shylock as choking with rage, yet gives him his tragic due. Roger Allam is a robust Antonio, and Emma Fielding makes Portia a worthy heroine. Background sounds in outdoor scenes are mildly distracting and seem out of place; when are they used onstage? Players in smaller roles are sometimes unconvincing, especially in their reactions, the bane of audio drama. Mildly humorous speeches, for example, elicit painfully false laughter. This production breaks no new ground, but the play's power does, for the most part, come through. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
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Transforming any play into sound alone is a challenge, and one that is met by this Arkangel production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, part of its series of dramatized recordings of Shakespeare's works. Like many of Shakespeare's comedies, MERCHANT is at its core a love story, but it is far more than that. The play is a controversial examination of justice, mercy, and prejudice. All the actors give strong performances, although it's somewhat difficult at times to distinguish between the voices of Bassanio and Antonio, played by Julian Rhind-Tutt and Bill Nighy. Trevor Peacock's portrayal of Shylock stands out among those of a solid cast. Peacock uses a sly voice for Shylock, saving his best for the comedy's climactic courtroom scene. D.J.S. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
