Gratiano

Bassanio has been murdered and, under suspicion, Gratiano is forced to revisit his Fascist past. He was never the hero - just a minor character, the plucky comic relief - but he never thought he would play the villain... In a challenging sequel to William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, this one-man monologue written in a mixture of verse and prose explores the politics of prejudice in the 20th century. Amongst the turmoil of post-war Italy we read between the lines of Shakespeare's classic tale, examine the true nature of the characters and ask just how Mussolini managed to use democracy to turn a people against themselves. This edition was published to coincide with the 2019 tour.

Ross Ericson is an accomplished British actor and writer. His adaptation of Henry Fielding's novel Tom Jones was well reviewed during its run at The Lion and Unicorn Theatre. Other plays include Punchline, Life and The Autumn of Han.