Merchant in the Slammer

A PlayShakespeare.com review of Merchant of Venice more recaps the production choices than reviews their success, but, despite some ambivalence, settles four stars on the show.

Using What's There

Sometimes when searching for information on one production, I happen across things from previous ones. Case in point: Shakespeare Teacher's thoughts on Merchant at BAM, which pays attention to how the production highlights ideas inherent in the text.

Jail Cell Perks

Michael Pavelka has been nominated for TMA's Best Set Design Theatre Award for The Merchant of Venice. The awards will be presented November 1.

Congrats to him, and best of luck!

Hmm..

So I've been keeping an eye on Propeller's official site to see if dates are being added to their tour, and it still says the last shows are in Tokyo. And yet! I have just found information pertaining to their appearance in Galway this weekend...how did I miss this?

You can find their pages in the program (including a photo of Richard Dempsey) here.

In an article from The Galway Advertiser, Ed Hall predicts Galway to be the high point of the tour. 

The Irish Times has a great piece covering Propeller's history and their approach to Shakespeare, as well as the ubiquitous discussion of the all-male conceit.

The Galway Independent previews the shows....

...and The Irish Independent has an article talking with Ed about the relationship Propeller has with audiences.

And how about a review? The Irish Times hails Richard Frame's "brilliant take on Hermia" and calls Bob Barrett "a masterclass in comic timing" in Midsummer.

I Bet You Thought I'd Forgotten About You

But not so! To make up for my disappearing act, here are two in-depth articles about Propeller's arrival in Japan, both involving conversation's with Ed Hall.

In the first, we hear about wha Ed thinks Shakespeare would be up to today and some insights as to what the prison setting of Merchant and the characterization of Shylock hopes to accompish.

And, in the second, we get a discussion on the nature of Shakespeare and the advantages of an all-male cast, along with two intriguing references...why is Bob "barking mad"? And where are these DVDs?

The Oxford Circus

The Teenage Theatre Critic considers Merchant a "well acted but over-directed" production. Complaints included the ensemble aspect distracting from the focus of the scenes and the prison uniforms making everyone appear "much of a muchness." I'm not really sure what that means but, apparently, it's not good.

The Oxford Prospect was also non-plussed, finding a lot of nit-picky faults in its review (including the Duke of Venice rolling up his sleeves).

Ending on a positive note, Daily Info calls Merchant "substantial and gripping" and tells its readers they should "expect to be moved."

Fresh Midsummer Merchant-ise

(...too far?)

CityLife.com in Manchester gives the Merchant four stars, though takes qualms with some of the gender roles (and if someone wants to tell me where Antonio sleeps with Bassanio in the second half, I'd appreciate it...).

Midsummer garners five stars, with Bob Barrett, Richard Frame and Babou Ceesay all getting special mention and the observation that it's "hard to imagine anyone...emerging from this show without a big grin on their face and a feeling that they have been a part of something genuinely special."

And, the crowd chimes in from Oxford, calling Midsummer "fresh" and "funny" as well as "joyous. hilarious. rude. outrageous." One dissenter even finds it in his heart to call the set and lighting "magical."

In related news, I'm having trouble finding useful information from the most recent tour stops. I'll keep looking, but if you find something, do pass it on!

Two Sides of the Coin

To be frank, I'm still a little taken aback after reading John Simon's absolutely scathing review of Merchant from Bloomberg.com.

To wash that sour taste from your mouth, here's a bit from Kingston, where the "ladies" got some love from Michael Coveney for WhatsOnStage.com, with Jon Trenchard's "splendid" Jessica and Kelsey Brookfield and Chris Myles' "excellent" Portia and Nerissa getting recognized in a review that praises the "wonderful simplicity" of the piece.

And in a review from The Independent, Coveney praises it further, calling it an "inspired, intelligent revival."

Milano

They've done their second hit-and-run in Italy, this time in Milano. For those of you who enjoyed deciphering the reviews from Rome, here's some more you can take a crack at...

Persinsala (translated) previewed the shows, hailing them as "Shakespeare as Shakespeare would have done."

Duetto2000 (translated) sketched out the company's production history it its preview.

In a review from PanoraMI (translated), the elements of contrast and ambiguity are noted and the intelligence of the production lauded.

I admit, I have no idea what delTearo thought of the production, as the translation is unusually garbled, but the idea of the audience being co-prisoners is interesting to mull over.

Round Up

For a smattering of reviews, check out Newbury Theatre's collection on both Merchant and Midsummer. Most of them have been linked here already, but it's good for getting an overall sense of how the productions were received.

Hair Today...

Jon Trenchard talks about the haircuts and the music in an article on Crackerjack.com (you can find an ever-so-slightly different version of the same article here).

The Hall Dynasty

Or so WWD calls it in this article from New York that highlights Propeller's history and Ed Hall's philosophy.

Directory: The Merchant of Venice

PREVIEWS

Theater Preview: the Merchant of Venice, Poole
The Guardian, Lyn Gardner, 11/29/2008
Renowned Shakespeare Touring Company to Visit Aberystwyth Arts Center
Arts Council of Wales, 12/15/2008
All Male Propeller brngs two Shakespeare classics to the Liverpool Playhouse
The Chester Chronicle, Michael Green, 01/21/2009
What to See This Week
The Guardian, Lyn Gardner, 02/06/2009
The Merchant of Venice
Aberystwyth Arts Center, 02/07/2009
Bard boys head the Rose
Kingston Guardian, Will Gore, 02/12/2009
The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Propeller, Watermill Theatre and touring
Oxford Times, Giles Woodforde, 03/12/2005
The Merchant of Venice
The L Magazine, 05/2009
Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Audaciously Performed by Propeller
Goldstar.com, 05/2009
The Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare-Festival im Globe Neuss, Summer 2009

REVIEWS

The Merchant of Venice
Liverpool.com, 01/2009
A Prison Visit to The Merchant of Venice
Jewish Theatre News, Judi Herman, 01/2009
The Merchant of Venice
Kudos.com, 01/2009
Shakespeare by Propeller
That’s How The Light Gets In Blog, 01/29/2009
THEATRE: The Merchant of Venice/Liverpool Playhouse
The Liverpool Daily Post, Vicky Anderson, 01/31/2009
http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/pkirwan/entry/the_merchant_of_1_2_3/
The Bardathon, Peter Kirwan, 01/31/2009
Review: The Merchant of Venice at the Liverpool Playhouse
Chester Chronicle, Peggy Woodcock, 01/31/2009
The Merchant of Venice- Liverpool Playhouse
The Public Reviews, Clare Howden, 02/01/2009
The Merchant of Venice
The Stage, Chris High, 02/02/2009
A Midsummer Night’s Dream/The Merchant of Venice
The Guardian, Lyn Gardner, 02/03/2009
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Merchant of Venice, review
The Telegraph, Dominic Cavendish, 02/03/2009
The Merchant of Venice at Liverpool Playhouse
The Times, Jeremy Kingston, 02/04/2009
Review- A Midsummer Night’s Dream/The Merchant of Venice
WhatsonStage.com, Michael Hunt, 02/04/2009
Alex reviews ‘The Merchant of Venice'
Aberystwyth Arts Center Blog, Alex. J. Gilbey, 02/05/2009
A Midsummer Night’s Dream/The Merchant of Venice at the Liverpool Playhouse and touring
The Times, John Peter, 02/08/2008
Raw and Revitalising Shakespeare
Theatre in Wales, Adam Somerset, 02/09/2009
Propeller’s all-male Shakespeare is awash with testosterone
Time Out London, Hannah Nepil, 02/20/2009
Review: Propeller Theatre Company at The Watermill, near Newbury
Gazette and Herald, Pat Harper, 03/23/2009
Jail House Merchant suggests crime can pay dividends
Reviewsgate.com, Mark Courtice, 03/25/2009
The Merchant of Venice, Propeller, The Watermill near Newbury
Gazette and Herald, Jo Bayne, 03/26/2009
The Merchant of Venice
The L Magazine, Benjamin Sutton, 04/29/2009
The Merchant of Venice
MusicOMH, Richard Patterson, 05/2009
The Merchant of Venice
Variety, Sam Thielman, 05/07/2009
The Merchant of Venice
Backstage.com, Adam R. Perlman, 05/07/2009
The Merchant of Venice
Theatermania.com, David Finkle, 05/07/2009
The Merchant of Venice
nytheater.com, Mitchell Conway, 05/08/2009

Shylock Schemes Behind Prison Bars

The New York Times, Charles Isherwood, 05/08/2009
‘Merchant’ is a Pound of Fresh
NY Post, Elisabeth Vincentelli, 05/08/2009
‘Merchant’ finds himself in a Venetian bind
New York Daily News, Joe Dziemianowicz, 05/08/2009
The Merchant of Venice
CurtainUp.com, Elyse Sommer, 05/10/2009
The Merchant of Venice at BAM
OpenSalon.com, Will Kenton, 05/12/2009
London’s Propeller Locks Up Merchant of Venice
The Village Voice, Alexis Soloski, 05/12/2009
Merchant in the Slammer
PlayShakespeare.com, Roseanne Wells, 05/12/2009

ARTICLES

A Man's World
The New Yorker, Hilton Als, 05/11/2009

Hall of Fame: Director Ed Hall at BAM

WWD, Vanessa Lawrence, 05/12/2009

Edward Hall sends 'Merchant of Venice' to prison for inaugural performance in Japan

Daily Yomiuri Online, Stephen Taylor, 07/03/2009

Propeller puts an old spin back on the Bard

The Japan Times Online, Nobuko Tanaka, 07/03/2009

EDUCATION

The Merchant of Venice Education Pack
Propeller Theatre Company, 2009

BEHIND THE SCENES

Rehearsal Blog from Jon Trenchard (Week One)
Jon Trenchard, 10/30/2008
Rehearsal Blog from Jon Trenchard (Week Two)
Jon Trenchard, 11/07/2008
Rehearsal Blog from Jon Trenchard (Week Three)
Jon Trenchard, 11/13/2008
Rehearsal Blog from Jon Trenchard (Week Four)
Jon Trenchard, 11/20/2008
Rehearsal Blog from Jon Trenchard (Week Five)
Jon Trenchard, 11/27/2008

Musing Aloud

Jewish Theatre News is ambiguously praiseful of the production, preferring to look at how the story unfolds through the prison setting than relflecting on the success or failure of the conceit, but is useful on a macro level when looking at the production.

Merchant to Milan

While the video preview I posted awhile ago seems to have disappeared, here's a very similar one heralding the boys' coming to Milan this week (first performance tonight):

Some Last Notes From NY

The L Magazine was disappointed, intercutting it's not entirely un-complimentary review with complaints over what it found to be repetitive prison power struggles.

MusicOMH points out how "they've clearly got a respect for Shakespeare's text without displaying ball-and-chain reverence" and praises the "astounding" performances found in Merchant. Though ambivalent about the prison setting, they still called the production a "must-see." 

Variety offers the most glowing of the New York reviews which praises the production up and down for performance, clarity, meaning and watchability. 

And then, as if to maintain the balance of the universe, CurtainUp.com's review is full of complaints.

A Finance Lesson

That's what The L Magazine's preview suggests we might get out of a viewing of Merchant.

Not to Be Bogged Down

Backstage is yet another American review to reference Oz in describing a production they call "near-great," but the reservations are slight and the performances highly lauded (particularly Kelsey Brookfield).

Isherwood's History Lesson

Will Kenton at Open Salon delves deeper into the history and context of Merchant, challenging Charles Isherwood's review and giving some reference to the Q&A done with the actors last week at BAM.

Reading Between The Lines

NYTheater's highly complimentary review strives to lock down the interpretations found in Merchant, particularly the men-as-women concept.