After eight weeks of rehearsals, the stage is now set for the MADC production of The Merchant of Venice. The play is directed by Joe Friggieri and will run for eight nights, between 23 and 30 July in San Anton Gardens.

There are six stories running together in The Merchant of Venice. They are beautifully interwoven, giving rise to a fascinating plot and a number of sub-plots. They involve the scenes of the three caskets, Shylock's bond and Antonio's predicament, the main love story between Portia and Bassanio, the other love story between Jessica and Lorenzo, the court scene and Portia's trick with the rings.

There are some memorable moments and a number of very well-known speeches. The language is, as usual, sublime, and the Launcelot scenes are very funny, providing a welcome break from the tension created by the more serious aspects of the play.

Most of the issues raised by Shakespeare in his plays are universal and timeless. For that reason they remain relevant everywhere and always. The Merchant of Venice deals with such big themes as love, hate, revenge, money, power, luck, and so on. But it also deals with racial prejudice and the creation of permanent minorities as a result of social exclusion. These two themes resonate with special force in contemporary Maltese society and in the rest of Europe.

This will be Joe Friggieri’s eighth Shakespeare production for MADC. “In designing a production,” Mr Friggieri says, “one needs to consider so many things. But the most important, to my mind, is how to create a feeling of intimacy between actors and audience, how to make those sitting in the last row feel as close as possible to what's happening on the stage. I think the garden setting lends itself beautifully to that. The Elizabethan stage used very little scenery and did not distinguish sharply between scenes. This allowed the action to flow from one scene to the next with great flexibility and no gaps. In The Merchant of Venice we're in Antonio's Venice in one scene and find ourselves in Portia's Belmont in the next. There's no need for any complicated business to move backdrops and bits of furniture around. A simple light change will do the trick.” 

In the director’s words: “San Anton Gardens offer the ideal setting for large productions like Shakespeare. The performance space is beautifully ‘backdropped’ by trees on one side and the palace on the other. It is, for this reason, extremely flexible and directors can choose which way to set their production. Apart from that, the gardens at night create a magic atmosphere that is quite unique. There is no other venue on the island that offers theatre audiences that kind of experience.”

Leading the cast are Manuel Cauchi as Shylock, Coryse Borg as Portia, Michael Mangion as Antonio and Philip Leone Ganado as Bassanio. The other actors include John Marinelli, Joe Zammit, Steve Hili, Francesca Briffa, Luke Mercieca, Joe Depasquale, Alex Gatesy Lewis, Annelise Abela, Maxine Aquilina, Anton Saliba, David Chircop, Chris Spiteri, Janelle Caruana, Diandra Anne Mamo, Rambert Attard and Stephen Galea. 

For bookings visit www.madc.com.mt or by phone on 7979 6232.