The Merchant of Venice is a smart retelling of tricky text – review
We’re big fans of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse – it’s a gorgeous little space, nestled inside the Globe on London’s Southbank, and is entirely candlelit.
Seeing a play here certainly is an experience – it really is like stepping back in time. The intimacy facilitated by the proximity of the actors to the audience really makes us feel like we’re all involved in some sort of communal, almost immersive event – we love spending a couple of hours in this gem of a venue.
The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most problematic plays – its story centres around themes of antisemitism and racism, and the text contains an array of reductive Jewish stereotypes.
Director Abigail Graham breathes new life into this updated and trimmed rendition of the play, making it clear from the off that this is a story of a Jewish man who is the victim of a hate campaign by an entitled, powerful, antisemitic elite.
