kevinmulryne's posterous

As promised, here are a few thoughts about the RSC's production of Merchant of Venice I went to the other night in Stratford-upon-Avon.

First of all - BEWARE - this is going to include loads of SPOILERS. If you don't like that kind of thing, look away now.

Guaranteed to annoy those who prefer their Shakespeare 'traditional', whatever that means, this production was set in Las Vegas and began with the cast on stage as the audience entered. The scene was a casino with extras and cast members playing the parts of casino staff and 'punters', complete with gambling tables, slot machines and a full, live rock 'n' roll/jazz band behind a huge light-bulb-encrusted curtain at the back of the stage.

The action really started with the whole cast and the extras joining in a musical number. When the dialogue began, it was clear that this production was going to be entirely in American accents with which most of the cast coped rather well, particularly Portia and Nerissa who were played as kind of dumb American teenagers, a bit like in the film of Grease.

Interestingly, the director decided to arrange the scenes with the caskets as a game show called, 'Destiny'. Two television cameras were wheeled onto the stage and captured live video which was fed up onto LCD and CRT monitors above the stage to give the impression that the show was being broadcast live to an audience of TV viewers. This worked well.

The clown, Gobbo, was played as an Elvis impersonator and interjected Elvis songs into the action like a kind of Greek chorus - often to great comic effect.

If this is all sounding really depressing and irritating to you, perhaps you need to do what I am told to by friends who are fans of Premiership football - i.e. 'get over it' and see if you can enjoy the spectacle for what it is, rather than grumble about huge salaries and overseas players.

For me, one of the glories of Shakespeare is that this won't be the last production of Merchant of Venice I ever see. Next time, it may well be in traditional dress, or maybe set in the future, who knows?

Anyway, what about Sir Patrick of Stewart? This was my first experience of Shylock, so I had no pre-conceptions. Stewart's performance as a king of Jewish Mafia godfather was highly-engaging and marvellously sustained. The whole cast made the trial scene harrowing, with Stewart outstanding as the vengeful, evil villain.

What was slightly surprising to me was the lack of time Shylock is actually on the stage. I imagined that this role was of the magnitude of Hamlet or Macbeth - but Stewart was great despite this. Next time, I'll know what to expect.

I was also unprepared for the racism and savagery in the play - as were most of the audience, judging by their reactions.

Overall, it was a fantastic piece of entertainment. If I could I'd go again...and again. So if you make the journey to Stratford to see this production, just remember to leave your preconceptions behind and enjoy the experience as the director intended - would Shakespeare have enjoyed it? I imagine he would.