Theatre Review : The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is the second Shakespeare play I have seen (after Comedy of Errors) and the first serious one for sure. And what a pleasure it has been!! Shakespearen plays have always intimidated me, I guess its the doubt whether I would understand the language and the nuances of his plays. And this one at least does not disappoint! There is a lot to explore, understand and think about in his creation. And its given me the confidence to go for more of his plays for sure! (Would always still read up the storyline before I see the play though!)
The show that I saw had Al Pacino playing the role of Shylock. So he was one of the major reasons I went for this play, but when you come out of the show, its still the play that you remember more than just a star performing in it!
The play revolves around a loan that a merchant in Venice, Antonio takes from a Jewish moneylender, Shylock for which he agrees to pay back a pound of his flesh if he forfeits the loan. Antonio is unable to pay back this loan and when Shylock comes to claim his pound of flesh, what follows is the crux of this play. There is also the parallel track of Bassanio, Antonio's friend who needed the loan to pursue Portia and Portia's efforts to free Antonio from Shylock's revenge and the backdrop to the entire sequence is the Christian-Jewish differences.
The acting of the cast was just outstanding, Antonio who seems statesque otherwise except when beaten and defeated by Shylock, Portia the more than usual intelligent heiress, and of course, Al Pacino as Shylock, who portrays the vulnerability, the frustration and the anger of a Jew in a Christian establishment. All lend beautifully to the perfection in the play.
The highlight of the play is the treatment of Jews by the majority religion of those times, Christianity, the insults, the discrimination and the general negativity towards the Jews which in some ways ends up justifying Shylock's cruel actions. The entire system is against them, and that is what makes them frustrated and aggressive. It remains in your mind long after the play is finished and you wonder about what would you call his actions, right or wrong? Justified or not?
As I said, the play is an experience to be had, the flow, the chatterings throughout, the sets, the acting, the story. All were perfect, enjoyable and thought provoking. Loved it totally, other than the length of the play though. Three hours of seriousness just gets a little bit too much!
The show that I saw had Al Pacino playing the role of Shylock. So he was one of the major reasons I went for this play, but when you come out of the show, its still the play that you remember more than just a star performing in it!
The play revolves around a loan that a merchant in Venice, Antonio takes from a Jewish moneylender, Shylock for which he agrees to pay back a pound of his flesh if he forfeits the loan. Antonio is unable to pay back this loan and when Shylock comes to claim his pound of flesh, what follows is the crux of this play. There is also the parallel track of Bassanio, Antonio's friend who needed the loan to pursue Portia and Portia's efforts to free Antonio from Shylock's revenge and the backdrop to the entire sequence is the Christian-Jewish differences.
The acting of the cast was just outstanding, Antonio who seems statesque otherwise except when beaten and defeated by Shylock, Portia the more than usual intelligent heiress, and of course, Al Pacino as Shylock, who portrays the vulnerability, the frustration and the anger of a Jew in a Christian establishment. All lend beautifully to the perfection in the play.
The highlight of the play is the treatment of Jews by the majority religion of those times, Christianity, the insults, the discrimination and the general negativity towards the Jews which in some ways ends up justifying Shylock's cruel actions. The entire system is against them, and that is what makes them frustrated and aggressive. It remains in your mind long after the play is finished and you wonder about what would you call his actions, right or wrong? Justified or not?
As I said, the play is an experience to be had, the flow, the chatterings throughout, the sets, the acting, the story. All were perfect, enjoyable and thought provoking. Loved it totally, other than the length of the play though. Three hours of seriousness just gets a little bit too much!
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