The roles of Jessica and Lorenzo were played by members of our Next Generation: ACT company, formed of 22 students from around the country: Adam, Callum, Daisy-Mai, Dorcas, Holly, Jacob, Jerminah, Joshua, Kaleb, Kamran, Kieron, Lee, Megan, Mohamed, Nico, Oliver, Olivia, Paige, Sahana, Sahib, Scout and Stephanie.
Next Generation gives talented young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to explore a career in acting, directing or working backstage. Participants in the programme are recruited from the thousands of young people who attend (or have attended) our 500+ associate and partner schools nationwide, in communities that are under-represented in the cultural industries.
This production was part of our First Encounters series, the perfect introduction to Shakespeare for 7 to 13-year-olds.
‘The world is still deceived by ornament’
Venice is a multi-cultural melting pot and the trading centre of the world, a place where everything has a value. High stakes are placed on beauty and choices are made on appearance rather than reality.
But when one of three boxes holds all you’ve ever wanted, should you really decide on looks alone?
First Encounters with Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice was specially created for 7-13-year-olds. Directed by Robin Belfield, it used an edited version of the original text to bring Shakespeare’s story of justice and mercy to life in just 90 minutes.
In collaboration with our regional theatre partners and Associate Schools, this production also saw 22 young actors from the RSC’s Next Generation Company take on the parts of Jessica and Lorenzo, the two young people caught up in a clash between family, money and culture.
The play toured to Blackpool, Newcastle upon Tyne, Middlesbrough, Bradford, Cornwall & Devon, Canterbury, Hull and Nottingham.
Studying The Merchant of Venice?
Created in collaboration with Adobe, the materials below were designed to help students and teachers to prepare before seeing the production, or studying The Merchant of Venice:
