'The Merchant of Venice' is not among my favourites of William Shakespeare's plays, but in no way is that a knock. It is one of his most controversial plays, being dubbed by many as anti-semitic and sparks much debate today, not just for that but also analysing the character of Shylock (as to whether he is a villain or a sympathetic character) and there is debate frequently of whether the play is a comedy or tragedy. It is also one of his most interesting, as an overall play and when analysing the text and characters.
Due to containing some very powerful speeches, the most justifiably famous one being Shylock's Act 3 Scene 1 speech, and one of Shakespeare's most interesting and complex characters in Shylock. Antonio may be the titular character, but for me Shylock is the character that comes over most memorably. There are some good productions of 'The Merchant of Venice' available on DVD, sadly this 2015 one from Royal Shakespeare Company is not one of them disappointingly, not terrible but underwhelming. Have seen plenty of Royal Shakespeare Company productions on DVD, this 'The Merchant of Venice' is down there among the weaker ones.
Sure there are good things about this production. The sets are simple, almost minimalist, but don't look cheap thanks to the atmospheric lighting. A few nice use of props, especially the candles, and the photography is beautifully intimate. The music is lovely on its own and some of the use of it is interesting, even if the significance is sometimes lost on you.
It was interesting to see a production of 'The Merchant of Venice' that fleshes out Antonio's character more so than most by emphasising his sexuality more, which the production does very well actually (though it probably didn't need to be emphasised so much). There are a few good performances here, the best ones coming from Jamie Ballard's Antonio (especially when in the court), here a complex character with strengths and flaws that one doesn't always see as much and Patsy Ferran's fearless but noble Portia. Jacob Fortune-Lloyd is good as Bassanio too and Scarlett Brookes does her best despite Jessica feeling very underwritten.
Less successful is a rather leaden and over-parted Makram Khoury as Shylock, where it is not really obvious whether Shylock here was intended to be a villain or a sympathetic character, something of a problem when he's the character you most remember typically and his role is one of the more dominant ones. The rest of the performances for me didn't really stand out. While the sets and lighting were fine and the candles were a nice touch, there are some Shakespeare plays that don't translate well in a modern setting and 'The Merchant of Venice' is one of them. Especially with song band-like costumes this drab that made one unsure what time period the production is meant to be set in.
With the amount of emphasis on Antonio it is a shame that everything else felt too under-cooked dramatically, rather under-explored (especially the father and daughter relationship which is barely there) and that the point of the play was lost. Shylock is very under-characterised here in the stage direction (apart from one powerful moment with the pound of flesh) and when the drama is focused upon him intensity and momentum go. Some staging touches are heavy-handed and some happen for no real reason and the significance of them are not clear.
In conclusion, has interest points and good things but doesn't completely gel sadly. 5/10
