5 reasons to see The Merchant of Venice 1936 at the Liverpool Playhouse

After hugely acclaimed runs at the RSC and London’s West End, The Merchant of Venice 1936 has arrived in Liverpool… and its success has followed it here.

Near sell-out performances have led to the Playhouse having to put on an extra matinee of The Merchant of Venice 1936 to cope with great demand as audiences clamour to see the production which has received mountains of praise and stunning reviews.

You might still be able to get tickets with slim-but-some availability, and the city centre theatre is encouraging people to check daily with the box office and online for seats.

And here are 5 reasons why you should.

Timely and thought-provoking adaptation of a Shakespeare classic

Given what’s happening on the world stage this is a timely and captivating reworking of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. His merchant is living in the East End of London in the 1930s amid the rise of Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, or Blackshirts, and as tensions rise moneylender Shylock – in this a resilient single mother – is desperate to protect her daughter’s future. When the charismatic merchant Antonio comes to her for a loan, a high-stakes deal is struck – but will Shylock take her revenge … and who will pay the ultimate price?

Brilliant cast

It’s superbly and powerfully acted by the cast including Joseph Millson as a sombre-suited and red armband wearing Antonio and Georgie Fellows as Portia, a Mitford-style socialite – but the stand-out performance is clearly that of Tracy-Ann Oberman whose heavily accented Shylock oozes anger and strength along with a deeply-felt passion and pathos, having based her matriarch on the Jewish women in her own family.

Echoes of Peaky Blinders

Both the set and costumes have echoes of Peaky Blinders with distinctive period costumes from smart suits to stunning silk dresses (Shylock’s court appearance in grey skirt suit and hat was almost perfectly Polly!) and the arm-banded uniforms of the Blackshirts swiftly making known the era.

Striking real life footage

Backdrops of real life news footage work to reinforce the issues of the time with a powerful and dramatic effect and serves as a reminder of a key time in British history. Never is this more forcefully felt than in the finale when the march that led to the Battle of Cable Street in October 1936 is shown ahead of an impassioned speech by Oberman, this time in her own voice.

Dramatic music

While the focus is clearly on the dialogue with Shakespeare’s well-known words intermingled with reinvented script, the music composed by Erran Baron Cohen serves to add to the power and performance, with elegant strains of piano music creating an almost candlelit atmosphere in some scenes, and drama and a sinister undertone in the next. 

Thought-provoking are the words that most accurately sum The Merchant of Venice 1936 up. Get your tickets here.

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