The Merchant of Venice 1936 at Criterion Theatre

Shakespeare’s play returns once again to the West End, this time in a slightly different guise. But despite this difference, The Merchant of Venice 1936 is still very much the show that all will be familiar with.

When Bassanio wishes to marry Portia, he turns to his long-time friend and benefactor, Antonio, for the cash to woo her. Antonio borrows the money from the Jew, Shylock, agreeing to pay her back in three months or else face a peculiar penalty that she has stipulated: she may take a pound of his flesh.

As events unfold, what begins as a rather jovial deal ultimately descends into drama, fear, rage and revenge by the end of the play.

It is a story of religious persecution against Jewish people, highlighting an unjust social system and what that can do to a person. A woman is scorned, ridiculed, threatened for no reason other than the fact that she is Jewish. It’s a timely and important portrayal as antisemitism finds itself on the rise, and also a reminder that this country is not immune to fascism, that it once all too recently knocked on our door – not via the threat of invasion but coming from within.

Other than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod that the characters are in fact in the UK and not Venice when Bassanio is announced to Portia as a suitor from England, the script is entirely unchanged. Set in 1936, it does look somewhat different, with 1930s costumes and a dreary brick building set blemished with fascist posters and vandalism.

There is a unique addition at the end: Oberman breaks character and gives an impassioned account of the Battle of Cable Street where British Jews and their neighbours stood against marching fascists. It’s hard-hitting but all too brief.

The show occasionally seems torn between wanting to be true to the Bard’s original words and wanting to tell a story of British fascism. As a result, the latter is merely a motif, relegated to the background, to theme the play but not define it, and it feels like somewhat of a lost opportunity to do more with the events and rhetoric of the 1930s.

Regardless, this is a fine retelling of The Merchant of Venice. Oberman is a powerful and moving Shylock, while Raymond Coulthard and Hannah Morrish are flawless as Antonio and Portia respectively.

Jim Compton-Hall
Images: Marc Brenner

The Merchant of Venice 1936 is at Criterion Theatre from 15^th February until 23^rd March 2024. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.