Review: Rupert Goold's gambles on his Las Vegas set Merchant of Venice at the Almeida
10/12/2014
It's all Elvis impersonators, slot machines and dancing girls in Rupert Goold's lively and colourful production of The Merchant of Venice. He originally directed this production for the RSC in Stratford in 2011 but with a few staging adjustments to fit onto the trimmer Almeida stage and some new cast members it arrives in London for a two and a bit month run.
The Stratford production had me conflicted. On the one hand there are some achingly clever devices and interpretations but on the other the 'in your face' tone and American accents made it difficult for a Merchant novice, as I was, to understand what was going on. I hoped this second viewing, now being more familiar with the story, would open up the play a bit more.
Ian McDiarmid steps into Patrick Stewart's shoes as Shylock the Jewish money lender with a macabre idea for a bond on a loan to Antonio (Scott Handy) and his is initially a much more playful Shylock who relishes what he thinks is a clever deal.
Susannah Fielding and Emily Plumtree return as the rich single lady Portia and her maid Nerissa and it is the treatment of their story which remains the highlight for me. Portia's father has left any potential suitors, all of whom have to be rich, with a choice of three boxes to open. One box has a picture of Portia in it to indicate they have chosen correctly and each box has an inscription in order to help them to decide which is the correct one. Goold uses a TV game show format, a cross between Deal or No Deal and Blind Date.
Antonio has secured the money for Bassanio from Shylock because his own money is tied up in some business deals which is causing him cashflow problems. Shylock really doesn't like Antonio.
And this is where I still have a problem with this production. There is so much going on for a lot of the time and coupled with the American accents my understanding of the finer plot points wasn't that much greater than my first viewing. I had so many questions at the end such as why Shylock dislikes Antonio quite so much and why Shylock is quite so stubborn in refusing repayment for the loan instead on insisting on taking a pound of Antonio's flesh.
Towards the end of the play it becomes particularly nasty and at one point Shylock gets spat on. It is difficult to reconcile the clever juxtaposition of Elvis songs and Batman and Robin costumes used as disguises with such anti-semitism and cruel intention.
When I saw it in Stratford my theatre companion Jen had to explain the ending to me which I've subsequently forgotten and so was confused all over again.
So yes, there is a great deal to be admired in this production and those more familiar with the story may well get on with it a lot better. There were plenty of bits that put a smile on my face but ultimately I walked away confused and a little frustrated at not understanding more of what I'd just seen.
The Merchant of Venice is on at the Almeida Theatre until Feb 14.
RS/BW 6DS
Tim Steed who plays Solanio was in the original production of Alexi Kaye Campbell's Pride at the Royal Court and Mr W was in the Broadway production.