Theatre review: The Merchant of Venice(Shakespeare's Globe & tour)

This year's tiny tour returns to the Globe for its final performances, and following the #VotersChoice gimmick of this season I wonder how many times The Merchant of Venice has actually been played in front of an audience before this final scheduled performance - my suspicion was always that Twelfth Night would win most often, and a review of Press Night I read suggested it wiped the floor with the competition then. Having seen the first two shows in the touring company's repertory before they set out, I left for last the story of Bassanio (Luke Brady,) who needs funds to travel to a distant land and take part in a fairytale competition for the hand of the wealthy Portia (Jacqueline Phillps.) His friend Antonio (Russell Layton,) the titular merchant, takes out a loan on Bassanio's behalf, but when he's unable to pay it back a bloody clause inserted into the loan agreement comes back to haunt him.

I was worried, when the show started, that the actors had picked up some bad habits on tour as they seemed to have developed a one-note, declamatory style of performance, but this settled down soon enough and, considering the handicaps they're working with (the primary one being that it's The Merchant of Venice,) this turned into a surprisingly good afternoon. I was concerned that, like The Taming of the Shrew, the pared-down nature of Brendan O’Hea's productions would leave the attitudes in the play that have dated very badly exposed and uncomfortable to watch. But unlike the misogyny of the earlier play, the antisemitism here is actually explored and put into context a lot more by the text itself. Shrew has never managed a production I haven't found problematic in one way or another, but the editing of the text here reveals the way Shakespeare actually gives a modern audience a lot to work with in explaining Shylock's (Sarah Finigan) descent into cartoon villainy.

Finigan plays Shylock not as a swivel-eyed villain but calm, quietly furious at his mistreatment, and frankly exhausted by it. It's actually made clear early on that even in what is an institutionally antisemitic society Antonio is particularly bad, and when Shylock's daughter Jessica (Cynthia Emeagi) elopes and converts, taking much of his wealth with her, it's just adding insult to a lifetime of injury. Pushed too far, the contract for a pound of flesh is the only bit of power he still has, and it just so happens he can use it against the man who's most gleefully abused him in the past. When Shylock's defeated, the final smack in the face of demanding he convert got upset gasps from this afternoon's audience.

This leaves the other half of the story to provide the lighter side (Portia's own bigotry is played down) and it's generally a brisk and funny production in the scenes of the comedy suitors failing until Bassanio comes along to do things right. An edited text is a particular blessing when Act V comes along; of course, there's an optimal amount of Act V to cut out, and that amount is Act V, but until someone's brave enough to do that I'll settle for a production that doesn't dwell too much on the ring subplot tacked on to the end of the play. (Still, the biggest laugh in that section coming from Steffan Cennydd's guitar strap breaking probably says it all.) And the final act does provide another reminder of what a dick the title character is - after all, Bassanio actually passed Portia's test until Antonio convinced him otherwise. I guess he's willing to put his life on the line when his friend has a chance of bagging a wealthy woman, but once she and the cash have been secured there's no point showing her any loyalty.

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare ended today at Shakespeare's Globe, with final Voter's Choice performances on the 9th of September.

Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes including interval.

Photo credit: Marc Brenner.