King Lear and The Merchant of Venice will be staged in Liverpool this summer, with support from the Royal Shakespeare Company and Stephen Fry, as the city’s PurpleCoat Productions stage a huge double-bill to celebrate their fifth year.
One ensemble from Liverpool will present both shows, which includes two of Shakespeare’s greatest and most challenging plays. The newly built Dome in Liverpool One will present The Merchant of Venice, while the iconic “Bombed-Out Church”, St. Luke’s, will play host to Shakespeare’s epic tragedy, King Lear.
The Merchant of Venice is a dark and often controversial comedy, centring around the treatment of a rich Jewish money-lender in a heavily Christian Venice. PurpleCoat move the action to modern day Blackpool, in what they hope will be a vivid and imaginative interpretation of the play. It’s Shakespeare meets Phoenix Nights, and promises some classic show tunes, and even some free sweets!
“We want the venue to feel like a classic Blackpool arcade,” says the company’s artistic director, Karl Falconer, “filled with sounds and lights. And sweets! We want to bring out something of the nostalgia of Blackpool, which we think fits well with the play, but also look at the darker elements of racial relations and gambling excess.”
It’s their bold and unique style that led Stephen Fry to fund their ‘Summer of Shakespeare’ last year, and which has seen them pack out theatres ever since with acclaimed productions of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Titus Andronicus, and Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming.
“We strongly believe that Shakespeare can be fun, relevant and deeply moving,” Karl adds, “Sometimes the idea of “stuffy” Shakespeare can block that. We want people to be excited by Shakespeare, and if that means setting it in Las Vegas and opening with a routine of Big Spender, we’ll do it! It’s our interpretation and we’re proud of the style that we go with.”
It’s a style that will undoubtedly seep into their climactic production of King Lear. Their 5th Birthday Production goes into rehearsal a week after ‘Merchant’ closes, and takes place outdoors at the Bombed-Out Church.
Shakespeare’s iconic play is not often performed due to the demands of the role. It’s often only taken on by huge stars at the final peak of their career. Sir Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi have recently performed the role, with the late Pete Postlethwaite bringing it to the Liverpool Everyman in 2008.
The Merchant of Venice runs at The Dome, Liverpool One from 3rd-7th July.
King Lear runs at St. Luke’s, The Bombed Out Church from 11th-14th September.
Tickets are available now for both shows at www.purplecoatproductions.com or via facebook.com/purplecoat or by calling the box office on 0844 8700 887 (5p per min charge).