The Merchant of Venice - cast announcement

Mark has pulled together a great cast for The Merchant of Venice. Not only are they great in talent but also fairly great in number - there's eleven of them. Not as many as The Crucible though who struggled to all fit on the stage when they took the curtain call (not that we have a curtain but you know what I mean!).

Not only are there faces from the recent past (a fair few you might recognise from our Anniversary Season) but also some that are new to the Octagon stage. Wyllie Longmore (Meet the Mukherjees / I Just Stopped By To See the Man) returns in the role of Antonio. David Fielder joins us as Shylock - can't wait to see these two trading verbal blows on stage! We welcome Emily Pithon as Portia and say hello once again to Paul Barnhill who plays Bassanio (Anna Karenina).

Other faces making a welcome return are Paul Simpson (And Did Those Feet / Road / Spring and Port Wine), Simeon Truby (Oh What a Lovely War / A Christmas Carol), Catherine Kinsella (The Crucible) and Dan Poyser (Blue Orange). Jenny Platt, Neil Madden and David Hobbs complete the cast.