UpstART and The Wright Opera House present...
a No Holds Bard production of...
William Shakespeare’s
Merchant of Venice
August 1-4, 2025
Fri/Sat/Mon @ 7:30pm
Sun @ 4pm
Tickets
$25 advance // $30 day of show // $20 senior // $15 student
The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath.
What does love cost?
In this comedy of three marriages, it's expensive, and lives are at stake!
Bassanio can't afford to court Portia, the woman of his dreams, so his friend Anthonio guarantees a loan for him. But if he defaults, he'll owe Shylock a pound of his "fair flesh, to be cut off and taken in what part of your body it pleases me."
This "merry sport" soon turns deadly serious, and only Portia can save the day, the play, the hilarity.
Join us! August 1-4 at the Wright!
What is No Holds Bard? Fun, interactive, entertainments the whole family will enjoy.
This will be the 12th No Holds Bard production from UpstART. Through close examination of his original, unedited texts, and exploration of the original performance conditions of Shakespeare’s company, No Holds Bard performs Shakespeare as you’ve never seen it before: the way Shakespeare’s own actors did it. We perform in general light, with minimal sets, with great, fast-paced, energetic acting and lots of audience interaction.
Our shows are extremely physical, totally accessible, often wild community events: more like a great championship sports game than a fusty theater production. Shakespeare’s audiences didn’t have to be English Ph.D.s to have a great time at his plays. They were popular entertainments; the Globe was the multiplex of his day. Come experience Shakespeare as he intended it.