I recently attended The Merchant of Venice 1936 at the Criterion Theatre and, while I appreciated the hard work and talent involved, the production was not for me. This reimagined Shakespeare had great ideas and focus, but in my opinion did not deliver in the way I had expected.

The play centers largely around Shylock, who was played by the talented Tracy-Ann Oberman. She was fantastic and her acting made me feel very deeply, especially when confronting the rest of the cast which was largely male. The decision to cast Shylock as a woman was powerful and thought-provoking, and Oberman along with the rest of the cast delivered their parts profoundly.

Although the acting was interesting to watch, the constant yelling made for a slightly uncomfortable watch. Many of the actors’ voices sounded hoarse, and I could not help but think if this was because of the yelling and extremely loud speaking which often dominated the scenes. This production added a song toward the ending and, while the actress has a lovely voice, it seemed a difficult ask to make an actress sing after yelling for a while. The yelling also was often directed at Shylock, which added not only to a physical discomfort but also to a discomfort with the blatant anti-semitism. It was clearly intended to make audience members uncomfortable, which is alright because all people should understand how terrible and real anti-semitism was and still is. The constant loud berating of Shylock was painful to watch, which made me think but more also just made me sad.

Additionally, another uncomfortable aspect of the production was the beckoning for audience members to come onstage and to chant at the end of the production. While this instilled a powerful message and taught me about a historical event that I was previously unaware of, it was also slightly confusing and uncomfortable. I say this because most people go to the theatre to observe and are not expecting to partake when attending a serious play. When going to see a rowdy or concert style musical, it may be expected. However, asking audience members to come onto the stage without direction seemed a little unusual. (There may have been prior direction or discussion that I am unaware of, but from my perspective toward the back of the theatre I did not pick up on this.)

This was an incredibly serious play with a good message, one that definitely came across. While I did not fully enjoy my experience attending, I did learn and think more deeply about the events of that time through a different lens, which I appreciate. The cast clearly worked very hard, and I appreciate the clear time and passion which has been put into this production.