Drama & Theater
Shakespeare Unstaged: Merchant of Venice
A Shakespeare play put on in a day!
Shakespeare Unstaged® was inspired by the diary of a manager at an Elizabethan theatre, which revealed that a company of actors might have put on forty plays in a year. And that these had to be rehearsed in a matter of days. In 2026, Shakespeare Unstaged® and Theatre Deli bring you Shakespeare's original comedy cycle from quarto, rehearsing and performing one play in one day each time.
The first of our Comedies season...Merchant of Venice! Shylock asks for a pound of flesh as part of a loan contract (weird), Bassanio agrees to it (weirder), and Portia saves the day by cross-dressing and pretending to practice the law (perfectly normal).
60 Hour Shakespeare have raised over £9k for charity. All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Theatre Deli in keeping spaces affordable and in supporting emerging artists through residencies, commissions and our Shift + Space programme. 60 hour Shakespeare have also featured four productions on BBC Radio and have worked with Colin Hurley and Michael Corbidge. Please see some reviews of our productions below.
‘I saw a piece of theatrical bravura on Monday – a wonderful production of Hamlet, rehearsed and put together over just one weekend. The strong sense of movement created a special dynamic – you felt that almost anything could happen.’ (Susan Creed, Henley Standard)
‘The use of language was brilliant, and the performances throughout were spirited and in turns both hilarious and moving.’ (Ali de Souza, Director of Drama at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School)
Gavin Leigh - Artistic Director
Charlotte Cline - Producer
Age guidance: Parental guidance may be required
Content warning: Please refer to this link for content advisement
Interval: This performance will have a 15 minute interval
See our Accessibility Guide for information about access in our venue.
60 Hour Shakespeare rehearses and performs Shakespeare plays in 60 hours to raise funds for charity and to recreate original theatre practice. Shakespeare Unstaged gets even closer to original theatre practice by rehearsing and performing a Shakespeare play in a day. The productions are based on a quarto text, which leans into original theatre practice and tells the plays in surprisingly different ways. We cast amateur and professional actors from around the world through open auditions to perform in England.
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