The Merchant in Venice: Shakespeare in the Ghetto
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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.
Ghetto • Holocaust • Mock Trial: Shylock v • F • Translation • The Merchant in the Ghetto • Performing Shakespeare • Site-specific Shakespeare • Ciro Pinsuti • Charles and Mary Lamb • Children’s literature • Gratiano • Lorenzo • Venice • Shylock • Jews • Narrativization • Reynaldo Hahn • The Merchant of Venice in the Ghetto • Lewis Carroll • The quality of mercy • Designing Shakespeare • Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco • Music • Chromaticism • Site-specific performance • Costume design • Directing Shakespeare • Aldo Finzi • Adaptation • Jessica • Mock Appeal: Shylock v • Murray Abraham • Shakespeare’s comedies of love • Antisemitism • Laurence Olivier • Mercy • Adrian Beecham • Actors on Shakespeare • Adapting Shakespeare • Fiction • Lancelot Gobbo • History • Otto Taubmann • Heritage • Children reading Shakespeare • Lighting design • Antonio • Portia • Humanities • Josef B • Compagnia de’ Colombari • Site-specific design • The Merchant of Venice • Rehearsal • Memory • Shakespeare’s trial scenes • Karin Coonrod • Site specific performance • George Braque and Shakespeare • Aestheticism • Foerster • Theatre design • Music design • Opera • Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Bassanio