Details

Venice intersects with Wembley in a wickedly funny, inventive, provocative reimagining of Merchant of Venice. In Shishir Kurup's Merchant of Wembley - Venice intersects with Wembley's Ealing Road in a wickedly funny, wildly inventive and politically provocative re-imagining of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Set in Wembley, London in the here and now. A tragi-comic, raucous, dark and irreverent work based on Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice offering a bitingly South Asian perspective. Set in Wembley, London, where hatred and intolerance among Hindus and Muslims have grown to a boiling point. Using music, blank verse and present-day pop references, the play explores how the preponderance of power in one sector of a community can marginalize a minority and provoke reactionary and retributive responses. Jitendra, a Hindu actor, has fled Bollywood stardom to seek fame and fortune in Hollywood. To secure backing for his "India-Indie flick with crossover appeal" he schemes to marry a rich young heiress, Pushpa Shah, and in the process endangers the life of his best friend, Devendra, by becoming entangled with Devendra's nemesis, Sharuk, a Muslim money-lender. Pushpa, is in love with Jitendra, but as per her father's will, must marry only a man who can pass a multi-media test. UK Premiere. Written in an iambic pentameter replete with Indian, American and Afro-Caribbean jargon

Cast/Performers

Jarreau Antoine (Armando - Lorenzo in Merchant of Venice), Shamir Dawood (Jeetendra - Bassanio in Merchant of Venice), Mikhael DeVille (Amithabha - Gratiano in Merchant of Venice), Emilio Doorgasingh (Sharuk - Shylock in Merchant of Venice), Vijay Doshi (Yoganandra - Salarino in Merchant of Venice), Rohit Gokani (Devender - Antonio in Merchant of Venice), Anil Goutam (Shivanabda - Salanio in Merchant of Venice), Taj Kandula (Kavita - Nerissa in Merchant of Venice), Ishwar Maharaj (Tooranpoi - Lancelot Gobbo in Merchant of Venice), Aria Prasad (Pushpa - Portia in Merchant of Venice), Ambreen Razia (Noorani - Jessica in Merchant of Venice)

Creatives/Company

Author: Shishir Kurup
Company: Rented Space Theatre Company
Director: Ajay Chowdhury
Design(s): Sean Cavanagh, Louise Rhoades-Brown (video)
Lighting: Ben Cracknell