Stewart & Goold Reunite for RSC Merchant???

Patrick Stewart is reuniting with director Rupert Goold to play Shylock in The Merchant of Venice for the Royal Shakespeare Company, according to the Daily Mail. Due to open on 13 May 2011, the production will be the second in the newly refurbished Royal Shakespeare Theatre, running in rep with the Michael Boyd-directed Macbeth starring Jonathan Slinger. Although an RSC insider told the Mail‘s Baz Bamigboye that Stewart hasn’t “physically signed the contract”, it comes as no surprise that he is keen to reunite with Goold following the raft of awards and  acclaim that greeted Macbeth three years ago. The news comes just a week after reports that another acting legend, Al Pacino, currently starring as the Venetian money lender on Broadway, is considering reviving his performance in London next year.