Trafalgar Theatre Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions and Alan Howard, in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company, present the Watford Palace Theatre & HOME Manchester production of
The Merchant of Venice 1936
DUE TO PHENOMENAL DEMAND, RETURNING TO LONDON FOR 4 WEEKS ONLY, PRIOR TO UK TOUR
Ambition, power and political unrest explode onto the stage in The Merchant of Venice 1936, returning to London’s West End due to phenomenal demand. Starring Tracy-Ann Oberman (EastEnders, Doctor Who) as Shylock, Shakespeare’s classic is transported to 1930s Britain in this “striking and impactful” (Guardian) new production that “makes theatre history” (The Telegraph). It is adapted by Brigid Larmour and Tracy‑Ann Oberman.
Tensions in London’s East End are rising and Shylock, a resilient single mother and hard-working businesswoman, is desperate to protect her daughter’s future. When the charismatic merchant Antonio comes to her for a loan, a high-stakes deal is struck. Will Shylock take her revenge, and who will pay the ultimate price?
If you prick us do we not bleed?
If you poison us do we not die?
And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?
Don’t miss this unforgettable, electrifying new production of The Merchant of Venice, a “fascinating and timely” (Daily Mail) reminder of a key moment in British history.
Gallery
Production Photos – Marc Brenner and Greta Zabulyte. Featuring previous cast.
UK TOUR
EXCLUSIVE EDUCATIONAL RATE FOR LONDON
TEACHERS GO FREE
Contact Group Line on help@groupline.com or 020 7206 1174.
For educational rates at regional venues, please contact your local Box Office directly.
VIDEO
Watch The Trailer
Audience Reactions
Cast
Extensive theatre credits include: Mother of Him (Park Theatre, Offie Nomination Best Actress); Pinter at The Pinter – Celebration /Party Time (Jamie Lloyd season at The Harold Pinter Theatre); Noises Off (40th anniversary tour and West End); The Windsors (Prince of Wales Theatre); Pack Of Lies (Menier Theatre); Fiddler on the Roof as Golde (Chichester Festival Theatre); Present Laughter (Chichester Festival Theatre); Stepping Out (Vaudeville Theatre); McQueen (Haymarket); Edmond (National Theatre); Boeing-Boeing (Harold Pinter Theatre); Hello and Goodbye (Athol Fugard at Southwark Playhouse); Tamburlaine, The Changeling, Jovial Crew and Macbeth (RSC); Loot (Vaudeville / CFT); Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Chichester Festival Theatre); Two (Minerva CFT).
Television credits include: BBC One anti-fascist thriller Ridley Road; Russell T Davies’ award-winning Channel 4 series, It’s a Sin; Toast of London (National Comedy Award Best Series winner); Toast of Tinseltown (BBC1); After Life (with Ricky Gervais for Netflix); all seven series of the multi-award winning Friday Night Dinner (Netflix and Channel 4); Sky One’s Code 404 (3 series) opposite Stephen Graham and Daniel Mays; Shakespeare and Hathaway (BBC1); series regular Fiona Miller in New Tricks (BBC); Sandylands (Gold); Midsummer Murders (ITV); Grantchester (ITV); Diane From Accounts (Sky One); Bob Martin (ITV); Murder in Suburbia (ITV); The Last Detective (ITV); Robin Hood (BBC1); Plebs (ITV); Hoff The Record (Sky); Dad’s Army – The Lost Episodes (BBC miniseries); Siblings (Channel 4); Zapped (Channel 4); Big Train (Channel 4); Lenny Henry in Pieces (BBC); Chrissie Watts in EastEnders (NTV nominated Best Actress and Best Newcomer, BBC) and as Yvonne Hartman in Doctor Who (BBC).
Film credits include: Where is Anne Frank (Ari Folman); Moomins on The Riviera (Mamma Moomin); The Infidel; Filth; Casanova Variations; Night of The Broken; Hector and the Search For Happiness; Marion and Geoff- A Small Summer Party.
She has appeared and written in over 600 radio plays, comedies and sketch shows. As a playwright, she has written a number of well-received Radio 4 plays, including Bette and Joan and Baby Jane; Mrs Robinson I Presume; Rock and Doris and Elizabeth and most recently That Dinner of ‘67 starring Kenneth Branagh, which was nominated for Best Single Drama at BBC Audio Awards. She has just written and recorded her latest BBC Radio 4 play Turning Point: Mae West, in which she plays Mae. Tracy-Ann also originated and co-created Jews. In Their Own Words for the Royal Court Theatre with Vicky Featherstone and Jonathan Freedland.
WITH FURTHER CASTING TO BE ANNOUNCED
Creative
Brigid Larmour is an experienced director of Shakespeare and Jacobean text, and is Associate Artistic Director of Patsy Rodenburg Associates, where she teaches directing and playing Shakespeare, text work for actors, and stagecraft. – patsyrodenburg.co.uk
A producer, director, dramaturg, teacher and cultural leader with extensive experience in the subsidised and commercial theatre and television, she recently stepped down after 17 years as Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Watford Palace Theatre. She invited Rifco Theatre, tiata fahodzi and other companies and freelancers to become Creative Associates of Watford Palace, co-producing their work, and produced or directed new plays by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Arinze Kene, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Mike Bartlett, Pravesh Kumar, Tom Wells, Zodwa Nyoni, Charlotte Keatley and Marks and Gran, among others.
From 1998 to 2006 she was Artistic Director of West End company Act Productions, and adviser to BBC4 Plays. From 1993 to 1998 she directed a series of promenade Shakespeares, Shakespeare Unplugged, for RNT Education. From 1989 to 1994 she was Artistic Director of Contact Theatre, Manchester, commissioning the first British plays responding to the rave scene (Excess/XS), and the implications of virtual reality (Strange Attractors, a multimedia promenade production in association with Granada TV, by Manchester poet Kevin Fegan). As Associate Director at Contact she championed and directed Charlotte Keatley’s game-changing My Mother Said I Never Should; having been rejected by all the major new writing theatres, it was then produced around the world – making Keatley the most performed female playwright after Agatha Christie! – and became a GCSE set text. Her 1980 Edinburgh Fringe production of The Roaring Girl brought this Jacobean comedy back into the UK repertoire and it has since been produced twice by the RSC. She trained at the RSC, and as a studio director at Granada TV. Her 2022 Pitlochry Festival Theatre/Watford Palace production of Little Women, adapted by Anne-Marie Casey, is revived at HOME in Manchester for Christmas 2024.
Tracy-Ann Oberman
Co-Adapter / Associate Director
Liz Cooke
Costume & Set Designer
Rory Beaton
Lighting Designer
Erran Baron Cohen
Composer
Sarah Weltman
Sound Designer
Annabel Arden & Richard Katz
Artistic Associates
Matt Ledbury
Production Manager
Greta Zabulyte
Video Editor
