Sun April 2, 2017
The Merchant of Venice
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at Kelly Cullen Community Center
(see times)
Shakespeare’s dark drama pits Shylock and Portia in a tale of resentment, vengeance, and a business deal gone horribly wrong. Directed by Glenn Havlan.
The plot of The Merchant of Venice centers on a debt that cannot be repaid and its horrible consequences for the debtor, the merchant Antonio. The young wastrel Bassiano needs money to be in the running for the hand of Portia. He gets his friend Antonio to guarantee a large loan provided by Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, who has long been abused and denigrated by Antonio. The loan goes into default, and Shylock demands repayment, not with money, but with a pound of Antonio’s flesh. The play climaxes with a trial in which Portia contends with Shylock. Merchant is perhaps best known for Shylock and the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. Also notable is Portia's speech about "the quality of mercy.”
The Theater of Others production is set in a “twisted near future” where the Jewish characters – Shylock, Tubal, and Jessica - are played by African-Americans, so that they are instantly recognizable, as were red-hatted Jews in 16th Century Venice. Our production attempts to refocus on the Jew as outsider. It’s not so much Christians vs. Jews as the Oppressor vs. the Oppressed. Compared to Elizabethan England, Venice of that time was a city of laws and money was king. Venetian laws were the reason Shylock and his fellow Jews were there – they were protected by the laws and could live in relative peace as they conducted their business
Our view of the near future is now more likely than it was when we began to plan this production. As populism defies globalism and nationalism resists diversity, their lines of defense expand to confront the perceived threat of multitudes of “Others.” The illegitimacy of racism and the exploitation of its fear and loathing by moneyed interests are the pernicious enemies of community and progress. Our telling of this story is as a cautionary tale, an example of the institutional normalization of injustice. It’s not realistic to think that hatred and corruption cannot prevail, that evil never wins. But conscience and righteousness will succeed more often when we are aware and prepared.
show less
The plot of The Merchant of Venice centers on a debt that cannot be repaid and its horrible consequences for the debtor, the merchant Antonio. The young wastrel Bassiano needs money to be in the running for the hand of Portia. He gets his friend Antonio to guarantee a large loan provided by Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, who has long been abused and denigrated by Antonio. The loan goes into default, and Shylock demands repayment, not with money, but with a pound of Antonio’s flesh. The play climaxes with a trial in which Portia contends with Shylock. Merchant is perhaps best known for Shylock and the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. Also notable is Portia's speech about "the quality of mercy.”
The Theater of Others production is set in a “twisted near future” where the Jewish characters – Shylock, Tubal, and Jessica - are played by African-Americans, so that they are instantly recognizable, as were red-hatted Jews in 16th Century Venice. Our production attempts to refocus on the Jew as outsider. It’s not so much Christians vs. Jews as the Oppressor vs. the Oppressed. Compared to Elizabethan England, Venice of that time was a city of laws and money was king. Venetian laws were the reason Shylock and his fellow Jews were there – they were protected by the laws and could live in relative peace as they conducted their business
Our view of the near future is now more likely than it was when we began to plan this production. As populism defies globalism and nationalism resists diversity, their lines of defense expand to confront the perceived threat of multitudes of “Others.” The illegitimacy of racism and the exploitation of its fear and loathing by moneyed interests are the pernicious enemies of community and progress. Our telling of this story is as a cautionary tale, an example of the institutional normalization of injustice. It’s not realistic to think that hatred and corruption cannot prevail, that evil never wins. But conscience and righteousness will succeed more often when we are aware and prepared.
Shakespeare’s dark drama pits Shylock and Portia in a tale of resentment, vengeance, and a business deal gone horribly wrong. Directed by Glenn Havlan.
The plot of The Merchant of Venice centers on a debt that cannot be repaid and its horrible consequences for the debtor, the merchant Antonio. The young wastrel Bassiano needs money to be in the running for the hand of Portia. He gets his friend Antonio to guarantee a large loan provided by Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, who has long been abused and denigrated by Antonio. The loan goes into default, and Shylock demands repayment, not with money, but with a pound of Antonio’s flesh. The play climaxes with a trial in which Portia contends with Shylock. Merchant is perhaps best known for Shylock and the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. Also notable is Portia's speech about "the quality of mercy.”
The Theater of Others production is set in a “twisted near future” where the Jewish characters – Shylock, Tubal, and Jessica - are played by African-Americans, so that they are instantly recognizable, as were red-hatted Jews in 16th Century Venice. Our production attempts to refocus on the Jew as outsider. It’s not so much Christians vs. Jews as the Oppressor vs. the Oppressed. Compared to Elizabethan England, Venice of that time was a city of laws and money was king. Venetian laws were the reason Shylock and his fellow Jews were there – they were protected by the laws and could live in relative peace as they conducted their business
Our view of the near future is now more likely than it was when we began to plan this production. As populism defies globalism and nationalism resists diversity, their lines of defense expand to confront the perceived threat of multitudes of “Others.” The illegitimacy of racism and the exploitation of its fear and loathing by moneyed interests are the pernicious enemies of community and progress. Our telling of this story is as a cautionary tale, an example of the institutional normalization of injustice. It’s not realistic to think that hatred and corruption cannot prevail, that evil never wins. But conscience and righteousness will succeed more often when we are aware and prepared.
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The plot of The Merchant of Venice centers on a debt that cannot be repaid and its horrible consequences for the debtor, the merchant Antonio. The young wastrel Bassiano needs money to be in the running for the hand of Portia. He gets his friend Antonio to guarantee a large loan provided by Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, who has long been abused and denigrated by Antonio. The loan goes into default, and Shylock demands repayment, not with money, but with a pound of Antonio’s flesh. The play climaxes with a trial in which Portia contends with Shylock. Merchant is perhaps best known for Shylock and the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. Also notable is Portia's speech about "the quality of mercy.”
The Theater of Others production is set in a “twisted near future” where the Jewish characters – Shylock, Tubal, and Jessica - are played by African-Americans, so that they are instantly recognizable, as were red-hatted Jews in 16th Century Venice. Our production attempts to refocus on the Jew as outsider. It’s not so much Christians vs. Jews as the Oppressor vs. the Oppressed. Compared to Elizabethan England, Venice of that time was a city of laws and money was king. Venetian laws were the reason Shylock and his fellow Jews were there – they were protected by the laws and could live in relative peace as they conducted their business
Our view of the near future is now more likely than it was when we began to plan this production. As populism defies globalism and nationalism resists diversity, their lines of defense expand to confront the perceived threat of multitudes of “Others.” The illegitimacy of racism and the exploitation of its fear and loathing by moneyed interests are the pernicious enemies of community and progress. Our telling of this story is as a cautionary tale, an example of the institutional normalization of injustice. It’s not realistic to think that hatred and corruption cannot prevail, that evil never wins. But conscience and righteousness will succeed more often when we are aware and prepared.
show less
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Kelly Cullen Community Center
220 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102
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