This new production of Shakespeare’s play is currently playing at the Watford Palace Theatre until the 11 March before then travelling to HOME Manchester: 15-25 March; RSC Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon: 21 September-7 October; Wycombe Swan Theatre, High Wycombe: 10-14 October; Malvern Theatres, Malvern: 17-21 October; Churchill Theatre, Bromley: 24-28 October; New Theatre, Cardiff Tuesday: 31 October-4 November; and York Theatre Royal, York: 14 – 18 November.
The Guardian: ★★★★ “An impactful production that shows how an ideologically problematic text can be staged while serving as its own critique.”
The Daily Mail: ★★★ “The problem with Brigid Larmour’s otherwise thoughtful and unsettling production is that she has turned it into a didactic polemic, with the posh merchant Antonio wearing a black shirt and Nazi armband. He’s a very one-dimensional baddie, whereas Shakespeare’s full text offers a sharper and more complex presentation of Shylock’s social evisceration.”
The Telegraph: ★★★ “Tracy-Ann Oberman makes history as the first British actress to play Shylock in this flawed but fascinating staging.”
Watford Observer: “The quality of the performances and overall direction was clear as they influenced the way the audience feels about its characters, without needing to alter the actual words themselves too much.”
Broadway World: ★★★ “It’s always good to see a company take on The Merchant of Venice and explore how its characters and themes play out in the 21st century. On balance, there are more successes in that endeavour than failures, but one hankers for the uneasy emptiness and swirling moral complexity that the play usually provokes. We don’t leave the theatre with many doubts this time and, as a Gentile who grew up in a working class district, I felt ‘my tribe’ were handed a somewhat unearned pass, portrayed on the barricades shouting ‘No Pasaran!’ in English.”
Lost in Theatreland: ★★★ “This is a version with maybe too many ideas, which loses understanding of intention. However, it is important in way of adaptation, reimagining current political events.”
Spy in the Stalls: ★★★★ “Shakespeare’s play is contradictory, but Larmour’s, and Oberman’s, message is clear as glass. Shattering that glass doesn’t diminish it – the relevance is reflected, if not magnified, in each jagged fragment. This is a vivid and moving interpretation. Disturbing, enriching and thought provoking.”
Jonathan Baz Reviews: ★★★★ “Tracy-Ann Oberman’s production is fine, informative theatre. The Merchant of Venice 1936 offers up not just classic verse, but also a history lesson on this country in the early 20th century. Well worth seeing.”
London Theatre Reviews.co.uk: ★★★★ “This production highlights the flaws of this controversial character alongside the other key players, making you question where those flaws began and who is really in the wrong. In The Merchant of Venice 1936, Shylock is still an incredibly flawed character, however, those flaws, in this adaptation, are given meaning. Paired with the underlying story building throughout this production of the lead-up to the real-life battle of Cable Street in London, The Merchant of Venice 1936 is an incredibly powerful production that asks its audience to think about what they can do to help.”
