Merchant of Venice, The

Synopsis: A video recording, using a single, fixed camera, of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 1997 production of The Merchant of Venice. Directed by Gregory Doran with Philip Voss as Shylock.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Video
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Recording date: 11 Dec 1997
Duration: 165 mins

Notes: A recording was also made at the Barbican 25 February 1999.
History: Press night 10 December 1997
Stills: Stills from, and design notes on, the production are available on the Arts and Humanities Performing Arts Data Service (AHDS) at http://ahds.ac.uk/performingarts/collections/designing-shakespeare.htm
Reviews: `Voss’s Shylock was hailed by some as a rediscovery of the essences of Shakespeare character after the inevitable, albeit understandable, politicisation of Shylock in more recent times. Alistair Macaulay described these ‘essences’ brought out by Voss: ‘He is so naked in his religiosity, in his hatreds, in his money-dealings, in his grief, in his vengeance, that, just as we are about to identify with him, we recoil from him. . . He is awesome and embarrassing’ (Financial Times, 15/12/97). Cited on the RSC website.

Name: Royal Shakespeare Company
Web: https://www.rsc.org.uk External site opens in new window
Address: Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Waterside
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
CV37 6BB

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