The Merchant in Venice: Shakespeare in the Ghetto
edited by
abstract
This book records the landmark performance of The Merchant of Venice in the Venetian Ghetto in 2016, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and the 500th anniversary of the Jewish quarter that gave the world the word ‘ghetto’. Practitioners and critics discuss how this multi-ethnic production and its radical choice to cast five actors as Shylock provided the opportunity to respond creatively to Europe’s legacy of antisemitism, racism and difference. They observe how the place and play stand as ambivalent documents of civilization: instruments of intolerance but also sites of cultural exchange.
Opera • Designing Shakespeare • Mock Appeal: Shylock v • Antonio • Costume design • Adaptation • Charles and Mary Lamb • Directing Shakespeare • Heritage • Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco • Portia • Site-specific design • Holocaust • Ciro Pinsuti • Music design • Shakespeare’s trial scenes • The Merchant of Venice in the Ghetto • Adrian Beecham • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Rehearsal • Translation • Murray Abraham • Jessica • Karin Coonrod • Children reading Shakespeare • Chromaticism • Site-specific Shakespeare • Foerster • Lancelot Gobbo • Lighting design • Laurence Olivier • The Merchant in the Ghetto • Venice • Shakespeare’s comedies of love • Gratiano • Compagnia de’ Colombari • Bassanio • Music • Actors on Shakespeare • Mock Trial: Shylock v • Memory • Performing Shakespeare • Site specific performance • Ghetto • Antisemitism • Jews • Theatre design • The quality of mercy • Aldo Finzi • Lorenzo • Aestheticism • Otto Taubmann • The Merchant of Venice • Josef B • Reynaldo Hahn • George Braque and Shakespeare • Mercy • Children’s literature • Narrativization • Site-specific performance • F • History • Humanities • Adapting Shakespeare • Fiction • Lewis Carroll • Shylock