6.9 (Sat) 13:30-17:00 Twelfth Night

6.9 (Sat) 18:00-21:00 The Merchant of Venice

Twelfth Night

Director: Tim Carroll

Starring: Mark Rylance

Genre: Drama/Theatre
Country: UK

Running Time: 191 minutes

In the household of the Countess Olivia, two campaigns are being quietly waged—one by the lovesick Lord Orsino against the heart of the indifferent Olivia; the other by an alliance of servants and hangers-on against the high-handedness of her steward, the pompous Malvolio. When Orsino engages the cross-dressed Viola to plead with Olivia on his behalf, a bittersweet chain of events follows. Filled with a cast of unforgettable characters, Twelfth Night combines cruelty with high comedy and the pangs of unrequited love with some of the subtlest poetry that Shakespeare ever wrote.

The Merchant of Venice

Director: Jonathan Munby

Starring: Jonathan Pryce, Rachel Pickup

Genre: Drama/Theatre
Country: UK

Running Time: 165 minutes

In Venice, the epicenter of consumption, speculation and debt, Bassanio borrows money from his friend Antonio to finance his attempt to win the hand of Portia, a wealthy heiress. Antonio, in turn, takes out a loan from the moneylender Shylock. The loan will be repaid when Antonio’s ships return to the city. But if they should fail, and the money cannot be repaid, Antonio must give Shylock a pound of his own flesh—and they do fail.

In some of his most highly-charged scenes, Shakespeare dramatizes the competing claims of tolerance and intolerance, justice and mercy, and creates one of the most memorable outsiders in all theater.