Der Kaufmann von Venedig! (The Merchant of Venice!) (Programme 2018)

Stage direction: Michael Günther

Artistic direction, translation: Christian Leonard

Music: Toni P. Schmitt Costumes: Gabriele Kortmann

Stage design: Miriam Braunstein

Dramaturgy: Johanna Julia Spitzer Stage

lighting and technology: Raimund Klaes

Starring: Vera Kreyer, Kim Pfeiffer, Benjamin Plath, Stefan Plepp, Oliver Rickenbacher, Daniel Schröder

Duration: 2 h 45 min incl. intermission

Prices: A

Admission 45 minutes before the beginning of the performance

"Hardly a dramatic work exists that is as controversial as the Merchant of Venice.“ Simply the fact that it contains a character “called the 'Jew', confronts us with our history“, says Christian Leonard, director of the Shakespeare Company Berlin. By doing so, Shakespeare's dark comedy, brought to the stage by Michael Günther, is placed in the crosshairs of political-historical explosiveness. The dramatically intensifying situation between Shylock and Antonio, manifested in masterful dialogues, finds its comic relief in Portia's fairy-tale search for the fitting husband, while ultimately ending up with Bassanio. The obscure musical performances, black-and-white look and woodcut-like treatment of the love story are reminiscent of the Berlin theatre of the 1920s.