“My fear is that the Fringe has become too commercial – the costs of venue hire and accommodation have shot through the roof, so ticket prices have had to go up and that impacts on the numbers who come to the city and therefore on audiences.”
WHO: Martin Foreman
WHAT: “In Shakespeare’s classic, The Merchant of Venice, only Portia’s appearance in court and her implacable logic saves Antonio from Shylock’s knife. But what would happen if she never came to Venice? Bassanio’s need for money to woo Portia sets in motion the events that lead to the trial, but what are his real motives? And why is there so much hatred between Antonio and Shylock? With echoes of Romeo and Juliet, events in A Pound of Flesh move remorselessly to a tragic end.”
WHERE: Space 2 at theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39)
WHEN: On Demand (50 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
We’re an Edinburgh-based group of theatre creatives, putting on two productions – A Pound of Flesh and Transfers. Most of us have been involved in the Fringe before in different companies over the years and, many of us have worked together on other productions in the city during the rest of the year.
The last time I was personally involved in the Fringe was 2019. I hate the role of producer – I’m not good at promotion, the financial obstacles are great and appealing to an audience is like shouting at passing strangers in a hurricane. This year, however, I’m working with a great team and I – and we – are confident that we have two great dramas to offer the world.
I have no idea what makes a great festival. I know what made the Edinburgh Fringe great in the past was the sheer variety of talent that came to perform here from all over the world – and an audience that was excited and enthusiastic about what they were seeing. My fear is that the Fringe has become too commercial – the costs of venue hire and accommodation have shot through the roof, so ticket prices have had to go up and that impacts on the numbers who come to the city and therefore on audiences.
Finally, I would love it if comedy were split off from the rest of the Fringe and held at a different time of year. For financial reasons it won’t happen, but coverage of stand-up reduces the attention paid to theatre and all the great things happening on stage.
Despite my gripes, I know I’ll have a good time seeing lots of new talent and shows – although they will all have to be in the daytime because I’m teching each night throughout the Fringe.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
I was only involved in a minor role in 2024 and before that my last contribution to the Fringe was in 2019. The lessons I have learnt are find a producer who has no fear, be prepared to lose money and whatever you do create a production that wows not just yourself but which wows the world that comes to see it.
Tell us about your show.
Who wrote A Pound of Flesh? Will Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice, based, like a lot of his work, on similar stories that had been told many times before. I took his play and brought in an element from Romeo and Juliet to create an alternative version in which Portia does not come to Venice to save Antonio’s life and all ends in tragedy. The focus of the tale is now Bassanio and the consequences of his greed – and the love Antonio bears for Bassanio is much more obvious in this version.
I am therefore the co-playwright (the text includes both Shakespeare’s words and my words in his style), the director and, faute de mieux, producer. An early version of A Pound of Flesh was full-length with ten actors. This version – premiering at the Fringe – is fifty minutes, with a cast of five. We auditioned in February and the cast comprises three I have worked with before – Ollie Hiemann, who frequently takes the lead in Edinburgh productions, as Bassanio; Danielle Farrow, a Shakespeare talent and expert, as Shylock; Michael Robert-Brown, an excellent character actor, as the Doge and other parts – plus Gabriel Bird, equally talented and often seen on the Edinburgh stage, as Antonio; and Millie Deere, a newcomer to Edinburgh, as Portia.
We have no plans to take it onwards – professional producers and theatres and agents please get in touch!
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
Immediately after A Pound of Flesh in the same venue is our other production – Transfers, a cast-devised play in which £500 gets passed from person to person in a kaleidoscope of life in Britain today. But enough self-promotion…
I have to draw attention to other Edinburgh-based groups and actors that I have worked with or seen in the past. They include:
EGTG, who always produce fascinating work (full disclosure, I worked on one their productions last year), are offering Dario Fo’s The Virtuous Burglar and Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children
the last time Arkle Theatre appears at the Fringe – with The Thirty-Nine Steps and A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Two of our cast members are in plays by other groups – Ollie Hiemann can be seen in Captivate Theatre’s Sweeney Todd and Gabriel Bird in Jean Anouilh’s Antigone
I’m pleased to see Dan Hazelwood’s Ascension return to the Fringe – the true story of a gay Dutch sailor marooned on an island three hundred years ago. I was astounded by it when I saw it last year.
As for the rest? Well, skimming through the brochure I can say I’m intrigued by – I can’t say recommend because I haven’t seen it and don’t know the cast or the play – Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut; Cheese and Guava or Romeo and Juliet; Hamlet from Raiser Theatre; Lord of the Flies; Time
Bends . . . and I’m sure there are a whole lot more.
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