by William Shakespeare
seen at the Almeida Theatre on 9 February 2015
This production, directed by Rupert Goold, was originally performed by the RSC in Stratford. As Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre, Goold has revived the production with a new cast for the Islington theatre. Ian McDiarmid plays Shylock with Susannah Fielding as Portia.
Goold sets the play in modern Las Vegas, glitzy and brash, with the Belmont scenes imagined as a reality TV show from 'Belmont Productions' called 'Destiny' (though Portia and Nerissa do actually live somewhere other than in the TV studio). The play opens in a Las Vegas casino, and its mercenary aspects are constantly underscored by the gambling atmosphere in Vegas and the greed and superficiality of the suitors in 'Destiny'. All the characters speak with American accents, some of them extremely broad; Shylock is stereotypically New York Jewish.
