Narberth - the Heart of Pembrokeshire in West Wales

Thursday July 16th 2009 in the grounds of Lampeter House, Lampeter Velfrey.

Doors: 7.00 p.m. Show starts at 7.30 p.m.

Outdoor Shakespeare returns, and once again Span Arts is very proud to present a wonderful production by a superb company. Riddles, romance and revenge will unravel when the acclaimed Festival Players return to the beautiful grounds of Lampeter House with their all-male production of the Shakespeare classic, The Merchant of Venice this summer
The production - the Players 24th annual tour - will be directed by Michael Dyer, former director of the Minack Open Air Theatre in Cornwall, who says: "It's an engaging tale of both comedy and passion and the central theme delivers the most suspense-filled court scene of all the great plays. In 2005 there were some raised eyebrows when we performed A Midsummer Night's Dream without actresses, but an all-male cast it is in fact totally authentic - we're following in the footsteps of Shakespeare's own Globe Theatre when all roles were taken by men."

With music specially written for the production by folk star Johnny Coppin (frontman of the cult Seventies folk-rock group Decameron) it promises to be an energetic, richly costumed affair. The play is best known for its central character of Jewish moneylender Shylock and his demands for 'a pound of flesh'.

Dyer himself takes on the mantle of Shylock. Antonio - the merchant of the title - will see the return of acclaimed actor David Lee-Jones, and James Scannell, Tom Giles, Matthew Barksby and Paul Thomas complete the cast.

Design and set build for the production will be undertaken by the Design and Production department of Trinity College, Carmarthen, under the leadership of Dani Graves.

For more information see The www.thefestivalplayers.co.uk/">Festival Players website and the Lampeter House website.

Lampeter House is in Lampeter Velfrey, near Narberth. There is a map on their website, and the postcode for satnav is SA67 8UQ.

Tickets for this event are £12 or £10 for Span members and concessions. You can buy tickets from our box office on 01834 869323