Adapted and/or abridged versions of Shakespeare can often raise eyebrows amongst purists, but the current touring production of The Merchant of Venice amply demonstrates that a well-considered reimagining of the play can genuinely elevate it and give it added weight and meaning for a modern audience.
Bridgid Lamour has adapted and directs this bold new reading alongside Tracy-Ann Oberman, who also stars as Shylock, and, while the text has been slimmed down to achieve a performance time of around 100 minutes (2 hours including the interval), the title has grown longer, with the addition of ‘1936’ to cement its place in time.
The concept of setting the play in London’s East End amidst the riots surrounding the rise of the British Union of Fascists is a bold one, and at first thought might seem to require a fair amount of textual tinkering to pull off. But what Lamour and Oberman have done here, with a very clever sleight of hand, is to use the framing device of a prologue and epilogue which set out and underline the idea. In between these dramatic bookends, the admittedly pared-down source text is allowed to play out very much as usual, with elements of costume and stage design from Liz Cooke and a louring soundscape (music by Erran Baron Cohen and sound design by Sarah Weltman) being the main cues to the setting and the story’s parallels with the events of 1936.
Casting a woman as Shylock appears perfectly natural, and actually serves to heighten the sense of oppression and injustice meted out to her. Oberman is a commanding presence on stage and finds a tremendous balance between strength and vulnerability, as she seeks to defend herself and her family from the mounting horror that surrounds them.
Joseph Millson positively oozes malice as the defaulting Antonio (he also puts in a nicely contrasting witty cameo as the foppish Prince of Arragon), whilst Xavier Starr is a pretty scary prospect as his Union-Flag-wielding friend Graziano.
Georgie Fellows is tremendous casting as Portia, perfectly embodying this 1930s style socialite, and achieving alarming guile in her appearance in disguise as Antonio’s defence at the trial.
There are also nicely done performances by Gráinne Dromgoole and Mikhail Sen, as Shylock’s daughter Jessica and her would-be suitor Lorenzo.
The text and its dark but sly humour sit very well indeed in the period, and there are moments, especially in the lighter passages, that are reminiscent of interwar drawing-room comedy such as Private Lives.
This however only serves to heighten the grim reality of social and political division that surround and permeate the narrative, and which are brought starkly home against the background of Oswald Mosley and his Blackshirts, and the grimy streets of East London.
At the close of the play, Oberman steps out of character and addresses the audience, flanked by the ensemble cast in a powerful tableau. Of all the venues this production is visiting on this tour, Liverpool has a special place, as it was this community who sent Mosley packing – something which drives home even more the parallels with the here and now. If anything, the delay in production of this tour (it was originally slated to appear 5 years ago) has brought it to stages when it is even timelier, its messages about racial hatred, segregation and unrest could hardly be more urgent.
After its week at Liverpool Playhouse, The Merchant of Venice 1936 continues its UK tour, with a further 8 venues and dates through to April.
Star rating: 5 stars
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| Tracy-Ann Oberman as Shylock - Photograph by Marc Brenner |
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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