Bard re-interprets Shylock

Looking for some controversy? Something to debate over coffee with friends? Then head to Vanier Park and take in Bard on the Beach's productions of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Mark Leiren-Young's Shylock.

More or less a love story, The Merchant of Venice includes the controversial character of the Jewish moneylender Shylock. When the wealthy merchant Antonio's assets are tied up and he must borrow money, Shylock agrees but demands that the forfeit must be "an equal pound" of Antonio's flesh if the loan is not repaid in time. When Antonio's fortune is lost, there is a trial, but Shylock is outwitted – he gets neither his pound of flesh or his money. By the end of the play, everyone, except Shylock, lives happily ever after, including Shylock's daughter, Jessica.

"I know that there are people who believe that this play shouldn't be produced anymore, and I think those people have a valid point," director Katrina Dunn told the Bulletin. "It's certainly a play that has been used to promote anti-Semitism in the past and that's part of its history, that can't be denied. But it is a play that continues to resonate for a lot of different reasons."

Dunn researched and grappled with the themes of The Merchant of Venice for a year.

"This play is coming out of a whole genre of plays that address the character of the Jewish moneylender," she said. "Many of those other plays haven't survived, like The Jew of Malta. People don't have a desire to see that anymore.... This play [The Merchant of Venice] has enough strong content and enough of a strong, diverse character that it's worthy of being seen and worthy of being reinterpreted through different kinds of context and contemporary eyes. That's how I've come to get behind it."

Dunn made her Bard debut last year with Cymbeline. Artistic and managing director of Touchstone Theatre since 1997, she has directed many of the company's productions, including the award-winning plays Unity and Kicked. This past season, she directed Touchstone's Lisa, Lisa and The Family Way. As a freelance director, she has worked with the Electric Company, Felix Culpa and Studio 58.

Despite the anti-Semitic content, Dunn describes The Merchant of Venice as one of Shakespeare's best plays craft-wise.

"He's created these incredible characters and some of the scenes are just flawless," she said. She encouraged members of the Jewish community to come out and see the show and to talk about it. She said she wants people to talk about and debate the interpretation.

Leiren-Young's Shylock will complement the performance of The Merchant of Venice.

"It's a great pairing," said Bard artistic director Christopher Gaze. "If you're going to do The Merchant of Venice ... it throws up great questions, does it not? And wonderful things to talk about and think about, and I think Shakespeare really provokes us into that. Apart from entertaining us, the thinking person will want to have cups of coffee with others and talk about what they've just seen.

"And Leiren-Young's play," continued Gaze, "what it does is, anyone who's seen The Merchant of Venice that is confused or has difficulty with Shakespeare's plot, it's a great play to come and see and contemplate what Leiren-Young brings forward from The Merchant of Venice to do with censorship, prejudice and so forth. It's very thought-provoking."

Performances are Tuesdays through Sundays. (Tuesday night shows are followed by a discussion about the play.) The Merchant of Venice runs June 24-Sept. 20; Shylock plays for 10 performances only. For something lighter, this Bard season also includes The Comedy of Errors and the classic Pericles, Prince of Tyre. In the Okanagan, Bard is putting on A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Mission Hill Family Estate Winery amphitheatre July 31-Aug. 31, in Westbank.

Bard tickets are $16 to $27 and available online at www.bardonthebeach.org or by calling 604-739-0559.