The Merchant of Venice Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh January 2025 Review
Photo by Henry Grossman.
The Merchant of Venice is at the Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh until February 15, and there have been so many productions of this work (like so many of William Shakespeare's other plays) for stage, film, television, and radio, that you could be forgiven for asking “Do we need another one” and “What makes this one different from any of the others”?
The first question is easy to answer and that is yes we always need another “The Merchant of Venice” because it shines a spotlight on an ugly aspect of human nature that we would all too often not want to admit is there. This dark side of humanity, one in which we are capable of marginalising and demonising one person or group of people because they are in some perceived way different from us has to be confronted for the dangers that these actions bring to any society.
There never will be a true answer to whether Shakespeare wrote here truly anti-semitic work, or if he has created in Shylock, the money-lending Jew, one of literature's most wronged and sympathetic characters with the “Hath Not a Jew Eyes” speech? Whatever Shakespeare's original intentions were, this work has so many parallels in recent and contemporary history that it cannot be ignored.
The second question is perhaps more difficult to answer, but this production by New York based TFANA (Theatre for a New Audience) and directed by Arin Arbus is a good example of how the power of Shakespeare and his words can still find contemporary relevance over 400 years after this work was originally written between 1596 and 1598.
TFANA is a non profit theatre in New York, founded in 1979, that is focused on producing Shakespeare and other classic dramas, and the diverse cultural mix of America and the history and marginalisation of many people from different backgrounds and cultures obviously finds resonance with Venetian Jews in the 16th century and Shylock himself.
This production has added a few touches of its own to this story, but at its heart this is essentially kept to the original text with a switch in location to an American city somewhere in the near future. A very minimalistic stage set design that could be an imposing marble walled and stepped edifice anywhere gives visual focus to the cast and also somehow audio focus to the spoken words. Shifting any play like this out of its original setting is always going to be a difficult balance to get right, and whether you like contemporary costume design and mobile telephones in your “Merchant of Venice” is an entirely personal choice. What does not change is Shakespeare's words and the all too often demonisation of a man because of his religion.
Much has been made in the publicity for this production that, here, Shylock is performed by a Black American and to a degree there are many parallels in this text that you could rightly say overlap. This is, however, a stage production and for me the most important thing is not the colour of someone's skin, but their ability to bring something special to this work. In this respect, John Douglas Thompson, a man considered by many people to be one of the greats of contemporary American Shakespearean actors, effortlessly proves why he has earned this status.
John Douglas Thompson is not just a great Shakespearean actor, he is a great actor, and his presence on stage is a powerful and mesmerising one. Here is someone with not only the ability to bring words to life, but also with minimal body language, a gesture, or just an expression somehow say more than pages of script can say. Watching John Douglas Thompson become Shylock on stage is an experience in itself.
There were many good performances here on stage tonight, but special mention must go to Isabel Arraiza (Portia) and Ariel Shafir (Bassanio) for their interpretations of these classic roles.
Despite the often disturbing nature of Shakespeare’s script, there is often too here a lot of humour that has, with this cast, somehow survived down through the centuries. If Shakespeare knew how to do one thing other than write, it was how to play to an audience, give them exactly what they wanted, and TFANA also understand how to do this. The physical location of the classic Victorian (opened in 1883) Lyceum Theatre was perfect for this production too.
Review by Tom King © 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
The first question is easy to answer and that is yes we always need another “The Merchant of Venice” because it shines a spotlight on an ugly aspect of human nature that we would all too often not want to admit is there. This dark side of humanity, one in which we are capable of marginalising and demonising one person or group of people because they are in some perceived way different from us has to be confronted for the dangers that these actions bring to any society.
There never will be a true answer to whether Shakespeare wrote here truly anti-semitic work, or if he has created in Shylock, the money-lending Jew, one of literature's most wronged and sympathetic characters with the “Hath Not a Jew Eyes” speech? Whatever Shakespeare's original intentions were, this work has so many parallels in recent and contemporary history that it cannot be ignored.
The second question is perhaps more difficult to answer, but this production by New York based TFANA (Theatre for a New Audience) and directed by Arin Arbus is a good example of how the power of Shakespeare and his words can still find contemporary relevance over 400 years after this work was originally written between 1596 and 1598.
TFANA is a non profit theatre in New York, founded in 1979, that is focused on producing Shakespeare and other classic dramas, and the diverse cultural mix of America and the history and marginalisation of many people from different backgrounds and cultures obviously finds resonance with Venetian Jews in the 16th century and Shylock himself.
This production has added a few touches of its own to this story, but at its heart this is essentially kept to the original text with a switch in location to an American city somewhere in the near future. A very minimalistic stage set design that could be an imposing marble walled and stepped edifice anywhere gives visual focus to the cast and also somehow audio focus to the spoken words. Shifting any play like this out of its original setting is always going to be a difficult balance to get right, and whether you like contemporary costume design and mobile telephones in your “Merchant of Venice” is an entirely personal choice. What does not change is Shakespeare's words and the all too often demonisation of a man because of his religion.
Much has been made in the publicity for this production that, here, Shylock is performed by a Black American and to a degree there are many parallels in this text that you could rightly say overlap. This is, however, a stage production and for me the most important thing is not the colour of someone's skin, but their ability to bring something special to this work. In this respect, John Douglas Thompson, a man considered by many people to be one of the greats of contemporary American Shakespearean actors, effortlessly proves why he has earned this status.
John Douglas Thompson is not just a great Shakespearean actor, he is a great actor, and his presence on stage is a powerful and mesmerising one. Here is someone with not only the ability to bring words to life, but also with minimal body language, a gesture, or just an expression somehow say more than pages of script can say. Watching John Douglas Thompson become Shylock on stage is an experience in itself.
There were many good performances here on stage tonight, but special mention must go to Isabel Arraiza (Portia) and Ariel Shafir (Bassanio) for their interpretations of these classic roles.
Despite the often disturbing nature of Shakespeare’s script, there is often too here a lot of humour that has, with this cast, somehow survived down through the centuries. If Shakespeare knew how to do one thing other than write, it was how to play to an audience, give them exactly what they wanted, and TFANA also understand how to do this. The physical location of the classic Victorian (opened in 1883) Lyceum Theatre was perfect for this production too.
Review by Tom King © 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com