British Black and Asian Shakespeare Performance Database
The Merchant of Venice (1980): Old Vic Theatre Company
PRINCIPAL CAST: Maureen O'Brien (Portia); David Sumner (Antonio); Timothy West (Shylock).
"the Old Vic has chosen to set Shakespeare's play in Goldoni's city - which means white wigs, three-cornered hats, masked revellers and something of the atmosphere of a harlequinade. In this 18th century setting, director Michael Meacham likes people to trip on and off stage at frivolous speed and allows cries of 'Yahoo!' and a cock-doodling Gobbo....Adrian Vaux's settings, extremely simple, offer steps and a glimpse of the lagoon, with a descending white curtain to represent Belmont."
~ John Barber, Daily Telegraph, 26 September 1980
"Jeffery Kissoon speaks the Prince of Morocco's lines with an intensity and nobility of diction that suggest that he will one day make a first-rate Othello."
~ Francis King, Sunday Telegraph, 28 September 1980
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- British Black and Asian Shakespeare Database by the University of Warwick, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council 2012-2015, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. See full copyright statement.