Speed Merchant (of Venice)

theatre · action! theatre company · Ages 12+ · United States

world premiere

A 90-minute version of Shakespeare’s play – drawing on influences from corporate gangsterism and reality television. Featuring Jack Young (head of University of Houston’s Graduate Acting and Directing Program) as Shylock and Vanessa Vaughn as Portia. Directed by Action! Theatre Company Artistic Director, Tiger Reel and adapted by Young and Reel.

“Genuinely good performances….compelling!” – TalkinBroadway.com

“This cast. This adaptation. This production. So good. So very, very good. Not to be missed at the Hollywood Fringe this year.” – Noah Nelson, Turnstyle News

“Smart, contemporary, funny & challenging” – Ellen Dostal, ShakespeareinLA.com

“This is one of the best, if not the best, offerings of this year’s Fringe.” – Bob Leggett, Examiner.com

“GO…..Playful but not glib, this worthwhile production blends satiric riffs and a contemporary sensibility into a meaningful rendering of Shakespeare’s troubling play.” – Deborah Klugman, LA Weekly

“This dynamic reading has captured ‘Merchant’ ’s core more winningly than many a fully scripted account.” – David C. Nichols, Backstage West

Production Team


* Fringe Veteran