It’s hard to think of a grander or more fitting way to inaugurate the fabulous new Duke Family Performance Hall at Davidson College than to have one of the world’s best known theater companies perform there.
And that’s just what happened this past Saturday night when the Royal Shakespeare Company took to the brand new stage for the gala dedication performance of “The Merchant of Venice.”
The state-of-the-art performance hall seats 600 and provides a satisfyingly intimate experience for the audience. Colin Falconer’s sets are minimal but effective. The Edwardian-style costumes are done in rich shades of plum and burgundy, suggesting the opulence of materialistic Venice in its heyday.
The play is well-paced, with the superb acting that one might expect — or demand — considering the $60 tickets.
When a stage is full of consummately talented professionals, it’s hard for any one actor to steal the show. But Ian Bartholomew almost manages such a feat with his moving portrayal of Shylock, the offended and offending Jewish merchant of Venice.
This Shylock is tightly wound, full of bitter energy. In the court scene, Bartholomew plays the beaten, humiliated Shylock with just the right note of pathos.
The production is directed by first-time Royal Shakespeare director Loveday Ingram. Company manager Nick Chesterfield believes Ingram has hit just the right note in this production.
“The production lets Shylock be the villain, but it doesn’t camp him up. It lets you see why he’s like he is. He’s very human. He’s a man to whom horrible things have been done. And he does horrible things himself.
“When you watch the court scene, you don’t know which side you’re on. You don’t want him to kill Antonio, but once he’s on the run, he’s savaged ... You have to sympathize with him.”
Of his own character, Bartholomew says, “In the end, I would like Shylock to be neither condoned nor condemned but to be understood.”
The lovely, charismatic Hermione Gulliford is wonderful as Portia, and when she is on stage, the space is filled with energy. Eliza Lumley plays Portia’s sidekick Nerissa quite nicely, but she shines most brightly when she sings. Her voice is achingly beautiful.
This production does a superb job of incorporating music. Jessica’s plaintive song, sung in Hebrew, provides insight into her sense of loss in choosing to abdicate her heritage and her culture. The moment lends complexity to a character which is sometimes played flatter than it deserves to be.
The kind Antonio, played by Ian Gelder, is the object of our pity, not so much because his heart is about to be excised from his chest by Shylock (he believes) but because his beloved Bassanio has taken advantage of him — and yet Antonio still loves Bassanio. Because Antonio is the final character left on stage at play’s end, his ultimate loneliness is subtly highlighted.
Director Ingram has not, thankfully, gone the dubious modern route of playing up any homosexual overtones that exist in the script between Antonio and Bassanio.
Ingram has approached the play, says Chesterfield, in a way that lets the action tell the story.
“There’s no spin. This production doesn’t come with a political agenda,” Chesterfield argues.
Says Ingram: “The direction that I’ve tried to lead the company in is to find out what Shakespeare wrote, and if he’s written scenes that are anti-Semitic, then we will play scenes that are anti-Semitic.”
Ingram sees the play as a challenge. “I’ve always been attracted to problem plays, the ones you can’t easily quantify as being a comedy or a tragedy. This play falls into two worlds, and this is a problem in terms of staging and design, as well as of plot.”
I found myself squirming uncomfortably during the courtroom scene — not because I was bored but because I found all of the characters morally distasteful, even Portia, who wins the day on a tawdry technicality.
It’s certainly true that this play is, by modern standards, full of egregious political incorrectness. It is, as Chesterfield says, “difficult and uncomfortable and upsetting ... It challenges audiences.”
The play’s revenge themes, Chesterfield says, are particularly appropriate for this time in our history.
“It’s about revenge and redemption. How do you approach someone who has done you a great wrong who is fundamentally different in religion and beliefs from you? What does revenge do to you as a person? How far do you go with revenge before you kill your own humanity?” Chesterfield asks.
While the “Merchant of Venice” deals with serious themes, there is, thankfully, plenty of comic relief. Darren Tunstall is frenetically funny in his turn as the goofy Launcelot Gobbo. Michael Gardiner and Chris Jarman as Portia’s suitors, the Prince of Aragon and the Prince of Morocco, give brilliant comic performances as they flunk the casket test.
You still have time to catch the “Merchant of Venice,” which will be playing at Davidson tonight through Saturday, at 7:30 p.m. and also at 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets — $60 but worth the price — are available at the Alvarez College Union Ticket Office on weekdays from 1:30-5:30 p.m. or by calling 704-894-2135.
Contact Katie Scarvey at 704-797-4270 or kscarvey@salisburypost.com
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