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