THE MERCHANT OF VENICE COMES TO FRANKSTON
By Melissa Walsh
Money makes the world go around. Portia has it. Bassanio wants it. Shylock lends it. Antonio owes the value of it. Love also plays a part. Portia offers it. Bassanio wants it. And Antonio may lose a pound of flesh for it.
B
ell Shakespeare presents The Merchant of Venice at the Frankston Arts Centre on Saturday, August 19. This uncompromising and dark production explores the tense relationship and prejudices between those that have, and those that don’t. Dark in its humour and bawdy in its romantic hijinks, The Merchant of Venice takes audiences on a journey of love, mercy and justice. Featuring three-time Helpmann Award winner, Mitchell Butel (Janet King and Rake) as the defiant Shylock, and Jessica Tovey (Wolf Creek and Wonderland) as Portia, the production will be directed by Anne-Louise Sarks (Belvoir’s Jasper Jones and Medea). Jacob Warner, a regular at Bell, plays the very popular Lancelot in this year’s production and is looking forward to performing in his hometown. “I was born in Frankston and some of my family are still there but when I was quite young mum and dad moved to Gippsland,” said Jacob. "Both my grandparents still live on the peninsula so I come down and visit them quite regularly.”
E ssence
68 | PENINSULA
July 2017
Playing the role of Lancelot is a thrill for Jacob who found a love for Shakespeare after seeing his first Bell Shakespeare show, Two Gentlemen of Verona, three years ago. “My role is a comic role so I have the luxury of trying to make people laugh every night which I enjoy as Shakespeare is a heavy show and its great to be able to add lightness,” said Jacob, who has fulfilled his dream of becoming a stage actor after studying at Drama School in Sydney for many years. “Seeing a couple of Bell Shakespeare shows including The Merchant of Venice is one of the reasons I wanted to be an actor on stage and now I have come full circle as I am working with them.” Jacob has also performed in the special Merchant of Venice courtroom scene alongside John Bell for the festival of Dangerous Ideas- exploring the concepts of Justice and Mercy. He appeared in last year’s smash hit Romeo and Juliet, and recently played James Pinnick in the Mel Gibson film Hacksaw Ridge. “It was great doing the Mel Gibson film with Andrew Garfield last year. It was an amazing experience and I loved playing and dressing up every day in the WW11 experience,” said Jacob. “And now being involved with Bell Shakespeare for this production of The Merchant of Venice is exciting. We always tend to make Shakespeare accessible to the audience as I believe it is something that must be performed rather than read.”