Shakespeare’s Globe is delighted to announce the full cast of The Merchant of Venice, performed in the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, directed by Abigail Graham and designed by Sarah Beaton.
In a world where money turns the wheels, men call the shots, and your religion or race can open or close doors, some win and some lose.
Abigail and the company reclaim Shakespeare’s disturbing tale. Looking at the story in a contemporary context, the production asks us to confront and question our own prejudices in the here and now. This is the first time Abigail has directed at Shakespeare’s Globe. Recent work includes Aladdin (Lyric Hammersmith), Mum (Plymouth Drum/Soho Theatre), Earthquakes in London (Guildhall), and The Tyler Sisters (Hampstead). Abigail was the director of The Bush Neighbourhood Company 2020-21, the director of the Lyric Hammersmith Ensemble 2019-2020, and she was the founding Artistic Director of OpenWorks Theatre from 2013-2017- an organisation dedicated to changing who goes to the theatre by changing who makes it.
Merchant of Venice Cast:
Raymond Anum will play Gratiano. Raymond returns to the Globe after performing in The Taming of the Shrew (2019). Other theatre credits include Youth Without God (The Coronet Theatre) and Romeo & Juliet, Love and Money (RADA).
Daniel Bowerbank will play Lorenzo / Morocco. Daniel is a recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). The Merchant of Venice is his professional theatrical debut. Previous film and radio credits include: UNSC Archives: Lightbringers (XBOX/215 McCann/Halo); Patient Light (Sonica Studios / Eastern Angles) and the Halo Infinite Soundtrack (Human Worldwide LA).
Ben Caplan will play Arragon / Duke / Solanio. Ben’s recent theatre credits include: The Winter’s Tale (RSC); The Exorcist (UK Tour); Describe The Night (Hampstead Theatre); The Knowledge (Charing Cross Theatre); Abigail’s Party (Theatre Royal Bath & UK Tour) and Sunny Afternoon (Hampstead Theatre/West End). Film and TV credits include: Call The Midwife (BBC); Band of Brothers (HBO); The Lost Honour of Christopher Jeffries (ITV); Golda (Qwerty Films); Pretty Red Dress (BBC Films); The Harness (HyneSight Films) and Rocknrolla (Warner Bros. Pictures).
Michael Gould will play Antonio. Michael returns to the Globe after performing in Swive [Elizabeth] (2019), Tis Pity She’s a Whore (2014), In Extremis (2007), King Lear (2001), The Maid’s Tragedy and The Winter’s Tale (1997). Other recent theatre credits include: Vassa (Almeida Theatre); Anna (National Theatre) and Othello (English Touring Theatre). TV and Film includes: Darkest Hour (Focus Features); The Trial: Murder In The Family (Channel 4); Rouge One (Lucasfilm/Walt Disney) and A View from the Bridge (National Theatre Live).
Michael Marcus will play Bassanio. Michael‘s previous theatre credits include: The Duchess of Malfi (Almeida); Valued Friends (Rose Theatre Kingston); The Inheritance (Young Vic & Noel Coward); Two Gentlemen of Verona (RSC); Richard II (Donmar Warehouse) and Jumpy (Royal Court). TV and Film credits include War of The Worlds Series (Urban Myth Films); The White Queen (BBC) and The Theory of Everything (Working Title).
Sophie Melville will play Portia. Sophie’s previous theatre credits include: Mum (Soho Theatre); Pops (Young Vic and Roxy Assembly – The Stage Award for Outstanding Performance); Blackbird (The Other Room Theatre – Wales Theatre Awards Best Female Performance)and Iphigenia in Splott (National Theatre) – The Stage Award for Acting Excellence, Wales Theatre Award for Best Female Performance, Evening Standard Award nomination for Best Actress, Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance).
Adrian Schiller will play Shylock. Adrian’s previous theatre credit include: Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Veil, The Captain of Kopernick (National Theatre); The Tempest, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The White Devil, Julius Caesar, As You Like It (RSC); The Crucible (Old Vic); Hysteria (Hampstead); Three Sisters (Young Vic). Film and TV credits include: The Last Kingdom (Carnival Film & Television); Victoria (Mammoth Screen/ITV); Black Earth Rising (Netflix); The Hollow Crown (BBC); Censor (Vertigo Films); Ashes in the Snow (Tauras Films); The Danish Girl (Universal Pictures); Beauty and the Beast (Disney) and Tolkein (Fox Searchlight Pictures).
Tripti Tripuraneni will play Nerissa. Tripti’s previous theatre credits include: A Doll’s House (Lyric Hammersmith), Much Ado About Nothing (Watford Palace Theatre), The Jungle Book (UK Tour) and Macbeth (National Theatre). TV credits include: House of the Dragon (HBO), Temple (Sky) and Casualty (BBC).
Aaron Vodovoz will play Launcelot Gobbo. Aaron’s previous theatre credits include: Lonely Planet (Tabard Theatre/Trafalgar Studio); Bad Jews (Arts Theatre) and Silent Planet (Finborough Theatre). TV and Film credits include: Messiah (Netflix); Killing Eve (BBC America); McMafia (BBC/AMC); Mr Selfridge (ITV); The Honourable Woman (BBC); The King’s Man (Marv Studios/Cloudy Productions) and Tetris (AI Film; Marv Studios).
Eleanor Wyld will play Jessica. Eleanor’s previous theatre credits include: Leopoldstadt, Don Juan in Soho (Wyndham’s Theatre); The Ballad of Corona V (Big House Theatre); Don Quixote (RSC Stratford/Garrick Theatre); Dr Faustus, Hamlet, The Alchemist (RSC). TV and Film credits include: Trigonometry (House Productions/BBC); Lovesick (Clerkenwell Films/Netflix); #Findthegirl, Thirteen, Casualty (BBC); Misfits, Black Mirror: The National Anthem (Channel 4); Bonobo (Fable Films) and Johnny English Reborn (Intelligence Films).
Cast by Becky Paris, Head of Casting at Shakespeare’s Globe
Creative Team:
Sarah Beaton – DesignerGiles Block – Globe Associate, Text
Rebecca Cuthbertson – Voice
Tess Dignan – Globe Associate, Voice
Sally Ferguson – Candle Consultant
Abigail Graham – Director
Zac Gvi – Composer
Tash Hyman – Assistant Director
Jennifer Jackson – Movement Director
Alexandra Kharibian – Costume Supervisor
Glynn MacDonald – Globe Associate, Movement
Zoe Svendsen – Dramaturg
