{"id":183174,"date":"2025-06-14T07:20:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T07:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/183174\/"},"modified":"2025-06-14T07:20:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T07:20:20","slug":"fringe-2025-local-theatre-company-producing-two-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/183174\/","title":{"rendered":"Fringe 2025 – local theatre company producing two shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edinburgh-based Arbery Theatre is bringing two new and very different productions to this year\u2019s Fringe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Pound of Flesh\u00a0offers an imaginative take on Shakespeare\u2019s classic\u00a0The Merchant of Venice. In this new version lawyer-in-disguise Portia does not make it to court to save Antonio\u2019s life. With echoes of the events in\u00a0Romeo and Juliet\u00a0and combining the original text of\u00a0The Merchant\u00a0with language and imagery in Shakespeare\u2019s style,\u00a0A Pound of Flesh\u00a0moves inexorably towards a tragic end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Arbery\u2019s second production,\u00a0Transfers, follows \u00a3500 as that sum of money passes from one person to the next in a kaleidoscope of life in Britain today. In a play devised by the actors, eight short scenes reveal very different characters, situations and emotions. The twist? The money goes round and round in a never-ending circle. The second twist? Scenes are presented in random order so the audience is never sure who or what is coming next.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eleven actors, including long-standing professionals and talented newcomers, come together for the three week run of both plays in one of the Fringe\u2019s most popular venues \u2013 theSpace on the Mile. They include Shakespeare specialist Danielle Farrow as Shylock in\u00a0A Pound of Flesh, Kirsten Maguire as an Older Woman in\u00a0Transfers, and Michael Robert-Brown, who appears in both plays and directs\u00a0Transfers. Among the younger generation are Ollie Hiemann (Bassanio in\u00a0A Pound of Flesh) \u2013 a regular on the Edinburgh stage, most recently as Jack in\u00a0Jack and the Beanstalk\u00a0\u2013 and Millie Deere (Portia in\u00a0A Pound of Fleshand Young Woman in Transfers).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes is playwright \/ director Martin Foreman. Martin created\u00a0A Pound of Fleshwith some help from the Bard of Avon and came up with the concept of\u00a0Transfers\u00a0based on the notorious Arthur Schnitzler play\u00a0La Ronde. Martin\u2019s last outing as director was J B Priestley\u2019s\u00a0A Pound of Flesh\u00a0(4 stars from All Edinburgh Theatre). His plays have been produced by several companies in Scotland, England and Germany, including the thriller\u00a0Taiwan, the comedy\u00a0Delivery!\u00a0and the picaresque\u00a0The Satyricon. Sound design for both\u00a0A Pound of Flesh\u00a0and\u00a0Transfers\u00a0is by Dug Campbell; lighting for both plays is by Freya Game.<\/p>\n

Arbery Theatre is an occasional group of theatre creatives. They previously produced\u00a0The Satyricon\u00a0in Edinburgh in 2022 (with EGTG); they last appeared at the Fringe in 2019.<\/p>\n

Listings information<\/strong><\/p>\n