I am Sherlock, a merchant in Venice, a Jew who earns a living by borrowing money to collect interest. They call me miserly, greedy, murderous, they say I'm a dog. One day, one of them, Antonio, came to me and asked me to borrow money, and I promised him on the condition that I use a pound of flesh on my body as collateral...
He is one of Shakespeare's most controversial figures.
This is the story of Sherlock and the Merchant of Venice.
Shylock was a bourgeois usurer, and in order to make more money, in the Venetian court, he was fierce, ready to cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's chest, and brutally kill Antonio, and he was stubborn, without the slightest sympathy or pity. This is Sherlock's personality that is different from other miserly people.
Don't we Jews have eyes? Don't the Jews have five senses, limbs, no perception, no feelings, no flesh? Doesn't he eat the same food, the same weapons can hurt him, the same medicine can heal him, the same cold in winter, the same heat in summer, just like a Christian? ...... If a Christian has bullied a Jew, how should the Jew show his tolerance, following the Christian's example? avenge. ......
At the same time, Sherlock was also a poor and sad person, because he was a Jew, although he grew up in Venice, he was ostracized everywhere, and some people even called him a Jewish dog, which was both hateful and sad.
Shakespeare successfully expressed this social contradiction through this comedy, and also made Sherlock the most successful and vivid character in the "Four Misers of World Literature".
In this drama, we can see Shakespeare's love for female characters, especially the portrayal of the character of Portia. In the plot of "Three Boxes of Choosing a Son-in-Law", Portia's evaluation of the suitors and the purpose of this move show the rare calm and courage of women.
Therefore, when she heard that her sweetheart Bassanio would fulfill the contract of "one pound of meat" for his own loan of three thousand gold coins and could not repay it because of the wreck of the merchant ship, she immediately decided to "dress as a man" and become a judge and face Sherlock in court for her lover and his friend.
These character groups with distinct personalities form opposing interest groups, making the whole plot gripping, the atmosphere highly tense, and the dramatic tension full. The elements of tolerance and narrowness, religious regulations and secular groups, justice and compassion are laid out one by one, which are not only exquisite and orderly in structure, continuing Shakespeare's consistent linguistic characteristics and comedic charm, but also showing the economic and legal characteristics and situations of Europe at that time, and contributing clues for future generations of researchers to pursue.
The theme of Shakespeare's classic play "The Merchant of Venice" produced by the National Centre for the Performing Arts is mainly "the spirit of contract", which tells the beautiful love and friendship, and promotes the positive energy spirit of bravery and kindness in society.
The grand theater version of "The Merchant of Venice" directed by Chen Yiyi does not blindly pursue innovation, but in a way that is easily accepted by the general public, it tells a complex story wrapped in a plot of ups and downs and the laughter of the cunning and clear spirit, just like in the summer night garden accompanied by the sea breeze and the sound of the flute, in a simple and warm atmosphere, seemingly inadvertently dyed those complex and magical human nature mottles.
In addition to the form of drama, the whole play also joins the live band and bel canto singers, and strives to lead the audience into Venice together to enjoy this great comedy work.
Author: William Shakespeare
Translation: Zhu Shenghao
Director: Chen Yiyi
Stage Design: Zhang Pengpeng
Costume makeup design: Li Ruiding
Lighting design: Sun Nanpu
Sound design: Zhang Ziqian
Body design: Shang Junrui
Prop design: Jin Jifeng
Guest Line Director: Feng Expedition
National Theatre produces Shakespeare's classic play The Merchant of Venice
Performance time: 2019.4.9-12/19:30, 4.13-14/14:00/19:30
Performance Theater: Beijing Comedy Theater
Show tickets: 100-580
Package discount: The second ticket price of the second ticket is half price for more than 100 yuan for this performance.
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Children under 1.2 meters are not allowed.
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