The Merchant of Venice 1936 – Liverpool Playhouse
The authenticity in this production is what struck me at rst, with the Jewish culture and language centre-stage for the preamble. And it didn’t matter that we may not understand what they were saying or doing, it was unapologetic. A sentiment carried through the whole production, which was a novel idea, as it gave the relic script a new tenacity and sense of place in the present which is far removed from when Shakespeare was writing.
That authenticity is also what made me realise that this piece really was an example of how these celebrated plays can be relevant to today and still teach us something about the human condition.
The cast, albeit small, was able to take on the responsibility of a much larger selection of characters. Their ability to multirole was not only impressive but ...