Merchant of Venice, The
- Synopsis
- Video recording of The Merchant of Venice directed for the 2001 Stratford (Ontario) Shakespeare Festival by Richard Monette. Paul Soles is Shylock.
- Language
- English
- Country
- Canada
- Medium
- Video
- Technical information
- Colour / Sound
- Recording date
- 28 May 2001
Credits
- Director
- Richard Monette
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
- Music
- Loreena McKennitt
- Production Design
- Ann Curtis
- Cast
Additional Details
- Theatre
- Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ontario
- Theatre company
- Stratford Shakespeare Company, Ontario
- Production type
- Stage Recordings
- Historical period
- Renaissance Italy
- Plays
- Merchant of Venice, The
- Subjects
- Drama
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Stratford (Ontario) Shakespeare Festival
Notes
- History
- The play ran at the Festival Theatre from 8 May-3 November 2001.
- Reviews
- Ward, Royal. Shakespeare Bulletin 20, no. 2 (2002): 35-36.
Hoile, Christopher www.stage-door.org (accessed 1/2008). Hoile writes `...his [Monette’s] rudimentary blocking has more to do with abstract patterns than with communicating characters’ relationships. It is as if there were a large X across the Festival Theatre stage. In virtually every scene Monette lines up the actors along one or both of these diagonals. The character with the longest speech stands in the centre of the X to be replaced after a shuffle with the next character with a long speech. One notices this pattern within the first half hour. Two and a half more hours do not make it more interesting. Since the pattern is unrelated to the dramatic action, the effect is more like seeing a dull pageant than a play with any pretense to realism’. Hoile also criticises the production for what he sees as racial stereotyping of the Princes.
Archive
- Name
Stratford (Ontario) Shakespeare Festival Archive
- Contact
- ECharendoff@stratfordshakespearefestival.com (Archives Co-ordinator)
- Web
- https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/AboutUs/OurHistory/ArchivesServices External site opens in new window
- Phone
- +1 519-271 1040
- Fax
- +1 519-271-1040
- Address
- 350 Douro Street
P.O. Box 520
55 Queen Street
Stratford, Ontario
N5A 3S7
Canada
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Merchant of Venice, The". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av70125 (Accessed 15 Apr 2026)