Jonathan Pryce as
Shylock (left) and Dominic Maftham as Antonio (right).
(Image: Manuel Harlan)
Reviewed by James
Karas
Shakespeare’s Globe
Theatre has produced a masterly and memorable production of The
Merchant of Venice that emphasizes the religious aspect of the play and
does full justice to its comic side as well.
Most of the credit must go to Jonathan Munby, the director who has
fashioned a production that is faithful to Shakespeare and at the same time
expands our view with his brilliant interpretation.
The production boasts a stellar cast with some truly outstanding
performances. Jonathan Pryce’s Shylock is a strong and confident businessman
who has to put up with virulent attacks on his person by the good citizens of
Venice. Their anti-Semitism is so ingrained that they are utterly incapable of
realizing the depths of their inhumanity. When a Venetian spits on him Shylock calmly
takes out a handkerchief and wipes the spittle off his sleeve. When he appeals
to their humanity, they hear nothing. A magnificent and powerful performance by
Pryce.
Rachel Pickup is an excellent Portia. She is entertaining as the woman
who must allow some pretty odd strangers to bid for her hand in marriage by
opening one of three caskets. She is very good when she must pretend she is a
learned lawyer in the court scene. Shylock almost interrupts her several times
during “the quality of mercy” speech which is not as effective as I would have
hoped it would be.
Stefan Adegbola as Launcelot Gobbo simply brings the house down in the
scene where he tries to decide whether to leave Shylock’s service. Munby has
him grab two yardlings, one of them to represent his conscience and the other
to act as the devil He questions them as to what he should do. It is a
hilarious scene. Adegbola is entertaining throughout.
Munby gets lots of laugh from Portia’s suitors as they try to figure out
which casket to open. Scott Karim as the Duke of Morocco and Christopher Logan
as the Prince of Aragon are very funny.
Dominic Mafham as Antonio, Daniel Lapaine as Bassanio, Ben Lamb as
Lorenzo and David Sturzaker as Gratiano are upstanding and well-acted Venetians
who have a slight defect (the characters, not the actors) in their view of
Jews.
In the courtroom scene Shylock forcefully asks for justice by having the
letter of the law enforced. We believe him to be right despite the pleas for
mercy by the anti-Semites. (By the way, for those interested in the
enforceability of the bond, the answer is simple: the bond is not enforceable
as a matter of public policy. Happily it is enforceable as a matter of dramatic
necessity.)
When Shylock is about to claim his pound of flesh, Antonio stands up and
his feet are tied up. He raises his arms and they are tied up to a pole and he
appears crucified. His friends rush to him and they provoke laughter. He is no
Christ.
The final scene is a masterpiece. After the jolly recognition scene, the
only thing remaining is for the three happy couples to start their married life
with the proverbial honeymoon.
At this stage Jessica (Phoebe Pryce) goes to the front of the stage,
kneels, and starts singing a dirge.
A priest dressed in a white cassock and carrying a large cross appears.
He is followed by a number of similarly dressed men, deacons I presume, who
form a triangle behind him. Shylock, dressed in a white shirt, walks behind the
priest as the procession proceeds solemnly to the front of the stage, beside
the singing Jessica. The priest is about to christen the distraught Shylock and
the deacons chant the baptismal service in Latin which includes asking the
future Christian if he believes in the basic tenets of Christianity. Shylock, a
man in agony, groans “credo” as he is completely deprived of his dignity and
humanity. Water is poured over his head three times; he is duly christened and
led off the stage.
Jessica, who is supposed to join her husband Lorenzo and continue her
life as a Christian, walks to the back of the stage to join him. But as the
door is about to close she steps back and turns towards the audience. She will
not go on. It is a moment of redemption for a woman who betrayed and sacrificed
everything that she was born to and raised with on the altar of anti-Semitism.
The whole scene is an incredibly moving coup de théâtre and a magnificent conclusion to this marvelous
production.
_________
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare opened on April 30 and continues until June 7,
2015 at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, 21 New Globe Walk, London, England. www.shakespearesglobe.com
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