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The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare Directed by Barrie Addenbrooke
Download the flyer here Is justice possible in a world obsessed with ethnicity? Is public revenge ever an option? Can commercial success replace family? Can romantic love survive at all? Just some of the themes to be explored in Shakespeare's dark, dramatic and thought provoking play. This production will move the action to an Italy in the grip of Mussolini's fascist regime, a Europe torn apart by war and a world threatened by the chilling shadow of the holocaust. Director's NotesThe Merchant of Venice was first performed between 1596 and 1598, and is said to be the most performed of Shakespeare's plays excepting Hamlet. Although officially a comedy, the text certainly contains a dark and dramatic edge: foremost the greed, prejudice, and intolerance of nearly all the major characters. The play was one of the most popular in Nazi Germany and it is easy to imagine that Shylock became the same stereotypical villain that the Germans themselves became in post-war British film. Moving The Merchant of Venice to Mussolini's Italy brings many of the more sinister elements sharply into focus. The Italian fascist ideology was similar to that in Germany but not as racist or anti-Semitic. Anti-Jewish laws were introduced in 1938 but mainly to appease Adolf Hitler and were not as rigorously enforced. However, thousands of Jews, Gypsies, other ethnic minorities, homosexuals, and dissidents were deported from Italy and died in concentration camps. Of course, the world has moved on since 1597 and 1940, violence on the streets, religious intolerance, racism, and homophobia are now confined to the pages of history... aren't they?
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