The Merchant of Venice (El mercader de Venecia) , and: The Merchant of Venice (review)

Abstract

The Merchant of Venice (El mercader de Venecia) Presented by DarekTeatro at CampoamorTheatre, Oviedo, Spain. May 29-30, 2008 (and touring throughout 2008 to Castellon, Caceres, Almagro, Olite, Sagunto, Granada, Murcia, Toledo, and Jerez de la Frontera). Directed by Denis Rafter. Spanish version by Rafael Perez Sierra. Set by Javier Rosello and Pedro Moreno. Costumes by Pedro Moreno. Lighting by Flavia Mayans. Music by Espacio Sonora, Rafael Perez Sierra, Denis Rafter, and Cesar Dieguez. With Juan Gea (Antonio, Moorish Attendant), Angel Garcia Suarez (Salerio, Judge, Moorish Attendant), Carlos Ibarra (Solanio, Balthazar, Casket, Serving Woman), Luis Rallo (Bassanio), Jorge Lucas (Lorenzo), Camilo RodrIguez (Gratiano), Natalia Millan (Portia), Luz Nicolas (Nerisa), Fernando Conde (Shylock), Dritan Biba (Morocco, Tubal, Jailer, Judge), David Fernandez [fabu] (Lancelot, Casket, Serving [Wo]man, Judge), Jose Hervas (Old Gobbo, Duke of Venice), Ruth Salas (Jessica, Casket, Serving Woman), Carlos Moreno (Arragon, Judge). The Merchant of Venice Presented by Royal Shakespeare Company at Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. April 3-September 27, 2008. Directed by Tim Carroll. Set by Laura Hopkins. Sound by Jeremy Dunn. Lighting by Jon Clark. Movement by Sian Williams. Music by Jon Boden. Musical Direction by Bruce O'NeiL With James Garnon (Antonio), Simon Darwen (Salerio), Keir Charles (Solanio), Jack Laskey (Bassanio), Patrick Moy (Lorenzo), Jon Paul Connolly (Gratiano), Georgina Rich (Portia), Amanda Hadingue (Nerissa), Angus Wright (Shylock), Arsher All (Morocco), Will Beck (Lancelot), Larrington Walker (Old Gobbo), Leonard Fenton (Duke of Venice), Amara Karan (Jessica), Sean Kearns (Arragon), Peter Shorey (Tubal), Will Sharpe (Balthazar), Jade Anouka (Serving Woman), Adrian DeCosta (Serving Man). El amor genera amor, el odio genera odio--y no importa ni la raza ni la religion. Love begets love and hatred begets hatred, regardless of race and religion; such was premise underlying Denis Rafter's production Spanish translation of The Merchant of Venice. It did not center singularly and visibly on Shylock's decision to take revenge against merchant and, by extension, get back at entire Christian community of Venice, but appealed rather to pain and humiliation suffered by all of wronged humanity. Rafter tipped scales away from play as a metaphor, on one hand, for capitalism with its big deals, and on other, for identified racial tensions and persecution, as post-holocaust readings have tended to do. He opted instead for a more studied, narrative-driven neutrality, to cite Michael Billington's phrase, penned respect of Tim Carroll's coetaneous production of Merchant with RSC. Although Billington believes that such is admirable theory, Stratford Merchant prompted him to query reprovingly, Who, for instance, is Shylock? insofar as Carroll had stripped play of social context and denied it any interpretive angle, so that it was in end morally evasive (Guardian, 11 April 2008). Similarly, Benedict Nightingale criticized neutrality of Carroll's Merchant, lamenting loss of the love, hate, terrible energy that can make play so gripping (Times, 11 April 2008). In Rafter's production, by way of contrast, so-called worked well both theory and (theatrical) practice; problem of anti-Semitism was not foregrounded but allowed to emerge unconstrained, as were issues of religion, prejudice, justice, and finance. It was clear that if play raises disturbing questions about attitudes to race, religion, sex and money (Billington), it is also a comical history, as its 1600 printed title indicates, which tells multiple stories about complex human relationships. In his mise-en-scene for Merchant, Rafter transcended national stereotypes associated with Portia's suitors, material cliches related to Venetian merchants, and anti-Semitism linked to Shylock. …