The Merchant of Venice

Synopsis

Written around 1596 and the first Shakespeare to be preformed professionally in America (New York, 1752). A man needs money to pursue a rich heiress (Portia) and approaches his friend Antonio - but unable to lend it Antonio approaches the Jewish moneylender Shylock. Shylock hates Antonio because of his Christian contempt for usury so offers a contract wherebty if the money is not repaid he may take a pound of flesh instead. The quality of mercy is not strained as Shylock is foiled out of his pound of flesh by Portia dressed as a man. A dark comedy exploring greed and racism.

Our Review:

10 February 2011

By setting Shakespeare’s most controversial play in the nineteen twenties just before the Wall Street Crash director Pete Meakin finds strong parallels with the economic uncertainties of the present day. Here are the merchant class revelling in a hedonistic lifestyle fuelled by their buoyant business dealings. But all comes to grief as their fortunes flounder on an unfortunate tide and the wealthy Antonio finds himself adrift and in debt to his banker Shylock who demands his pound of flesh.

The jury is out on whether or not The Merchant of Venice is anti-Semitic and unplayable in a modern world but it does make uncomfortable viewing to a twenty-first century audience. We want our sympathies to be with Paul Rider’s much-maligned but economically essential Shylock but find it difficult when he insists on extracting Antonio’s contractual obligation to the full.

Paul’s powerful presence dominates during every moment he is on stage but it is Camilla Aerfwedson’s Portia who ...

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Latest User Review

David Owen - 9 February 2011:

Wonderfully pacy and delivered so well that even those unknowledgeable about the play, or unskilled in Elizabethan language, will follow without difficulty. And not just pacy... but racy as well! In this age where people are frightened to address racism, this show hits it head-on and lets the audience deal with their own prejudices whilst it drives the story on relentlessly. Portia and Nerissa are excellent together, and Shylock demanded all my emotions, but then the rest of the cast are also very strong. A must-see production!...

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