Abstract
Jacques Vincey’s 2017 production (Théâtre Olympia, Centre Dramatique National de Tours) did not seek to purge The Merchant of Venice (‘Business in Venice’) of its many disturbing aspects, as many interpreters over time have sought to do. The play has been subject to many interpretations, often contradictory: In this case, Portia was a wealthy heiress; Shylock, a suffering and dignified man, tragically caught in a carnivalesque comedy; Bassanio, a fortune hunter; the Christians, barbarous hypocrites; and Belmont, a place of materiality and artificiality. The production elicited perceptions of anti-Semitism among members of Le Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France Touraine-Poitou-Charentes.
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