Tracy-Ann Oberman (EastEnders, Doctor Who, Friday Night Dinner) is reprising her starring role as the first British actress to play Shylock in a new national tour of The Merchant of Venice 1936
“The most important Shakespeare production of the year.”Daily Telegraph
Audiences around the country have the chance to experience this “deeply relevant” (Daily Telegraph) play and, in particular, Oberman’s “astonishing, full-bloodied performance” (The Metro).
Tracy-Ann Oberman: “I am so delighted that, by popular demand, MOV1936 is coming back. Demand has been so high that I feel bringing it back, and this time to the beautiful Trafalgar Theatre and then on a national tour, is essential. The message of my female Shylock…………. feels more pertinent than ever. The play is about unity and standing together against hatred. Its impact has been beyond my wildest hopes and ambitions for it.”
Adapted by Brigid Larmour and Tracy-Ann Oberman, this new vision transports Shakespeare’s classic tale of ambition and power to 1930s East London against the backdrop of the Battle of Cable Street.
With the City on the brink of political unrest, fascism sweeping across Europe and Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists threatening a paramilitary march through the Jewish East End, strong-willed single mother Shylock runs a pawnbroking business from her house in Cable Street. When charismatic, antisemitic aristocrat 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?
Creative Team
Associate Director – Tracy-Ann Oberman
Costume and Set Design – Liz Cooke
Lighting Design – Rory Beaton
Sound Design – Sarah Weltman
Composer – Erran Baron Cohen
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 1936
Directed by Brigid Larmour
Quarry Theatre, Leeds Playhouse
11-15 March 2025
Box office 0113 213 7700
Book online leedsplayhouse.org.uk
Photography by Marc Brenner.
