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Nicholas de Jongh's rating
Merchant without menace
By
Nicholas de Jongh
29 Jun 2007
I cannot remember a more crudely reductionist reading of The Merchant of Venice than Rebecca Gatward's. The key to her production is a Shylock, who seldom rises above the level of stock Elizabethan villain, though not the comic or complex sort of Miss Gatward's imagining.
John McEnery plays the money-lender as a dehumanised creature, sporting a pointy beard and a voice confined to low-grade snarls of resentment. He scarcely grieves for daughter Jessica (Pippa Nixon), who joins the Christians. McEnery's listless demand for that pound of flesh is redolent of natural-born evil rather than the fanaticism of a revenger and outcast, enraged by Venetian society's anti-semitism. It is typical of this bland performance that Shylock's famous warning speech "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" engenders no more heat than a March morning.
The Gatward-McEnery interpretation ignores the historically and psychologically nuanced reassessments of directors from Jonathan Miller to Trevor Nunn, who saw Shylock as much victim as victimiser, with Venice offering scant, final mercy or justice. Here the Venetian Merchants, dressed in vaguely Elizabethan costumes, are sentimentalised as buoyant, young hearties. Philip Cumbus, though, convincingly makes Bassanio, a handsome, bisexual fortune-hunter, who seals his erotic-financial hold over Dale Rapley's smitten, gloomy Antonio by planting a long kiss on the older man's eager lips.
These apt, dark notes of comedy strengthen a play that broods over the value of both love and money. Sadly they are not sustained.
In Belmont, for which designer Liz Cooke supplies a vivid, rural back-cloth that remains when the scene returns to Venice, Portia proves to be a bland heiress in search of the right man. The casket scenes are played to broadish comic effect. Kirsty Besterman, who took over the role of Portia three weeks ago, often sounds flat and charmless. She pleads in court with muted commitment, in face of a Bassanio who never makes it clear whether he succumbs to the heiress's wealth, body or a bit of both.
Genuine drama came late on when Mark Rice-Oxley, a forceful Gratiano, succumbed to gastric flu and his role was read from the script with confident gusto by Craig Gazey's Launcelot Gobbo.
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Reader views (4)
I wasn't sure what to expect from the Merchant of Venice, having read it in school and not found it wildly exciting. It lacked the hilarity of 'Much Ado' and couldn't compete with the passion of 'Romeo and Juliet' or the drama of 'Macbeth'. However, I loved every second of this production. I think it is unfair to criticise McEnery's Shylock. He was played with a restrained malevolence reflecting the fact that he was villain and victim rolled into one. No doubt McEnery would have received criticism on racial grounds had he played him as an completely outrageous figure of malice and ridicule. Considering the change in attitudes since Shakespeare's time, I think he handled a difficult part very well, staying true to Shakespeare but at the same time finding a level in Shylock which a modern audience can relate to and feel sympathy towards. As for the rest of the performance, it was perfect. Portia was played with charm, wit and feistiness and was a credit to the role. Bassanio was also excellent and the interplay between the two was hysterical, the ring scene being one of the most amusing in the whole play. My favourite character of all, however, has to be Lancelot. Since his first scene, every time he returned to the stage the audience were laughing before he even opened his mouth. In every delivery he had something new to offer and his cockiness in front of Bassanio was particularly funny. I'd recommend this play to everyone. I haven't laughed so much in ages!
- Emma, Leighton Buzzard, England, 24/08/2007 09:11
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A friend and I were in London recently and went to a midnight performance of The Merchant of Vencie and were amazed by it. The actors were flawless in their performances (especially since itwas so late-the performance went on until 3am). The main characters were fantastic and the actor portraying Launcelot was a credit to the humorous role, the audience were crying with laughter the moment he appeared on stage. Also the relationship between Brassanio and Antonio was very realistic and entirely believable. I would reccomend this play to anyone who gets the chance to see it.
- Jenna, Manchester, UK, 16/08/2007 17:36
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I agree with Victoria. Mr De Jongh has completely missed the point of this production. It was a very faithful performance (Shylock would have gained no sympathy from the audience back in Shakespeare's time) but with a modern flavour for today's audience. Kirsty Besterman was fantastic as Portia, delivering her lines with all the rich irony that they implied and a suitable twinkle in her eye. There was just the right amount of humour without being 'pantomimish' (but it is a comedy after all!) and all the cast remained in character throughout, being able to deliver their lines in such a way that even those not familiar with Shakespeare could understand. The whole performance was extremely professional, hugely fun, lively and enjoyable. Maybe Mr De Jongh would find Macbeth or Hamlet more up his street!
- Lucy, London, UK, 14/08/2007 12:30
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I saw The Merchant of Venice a few weeks ago and I disagree with Mr De Jongh's review utterly. Shylock was played as a vicitm as much as the aggressor, and the audience were made to feel sympathy for him. He was clearly acting in revenge for the injustice and mistreatment he had suffered, rather than simply out of malice, and the fact that he did not shout the famous line "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" as if in a pantomime gives credit to original direction. I would recommend this production to anyone.
- Victoria, London, UK, 14/08/2007 11:30
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