Salford audiences are set to be entertained by the critically acclaimed production, The Merchant of Venice 1936 with Tracy-Ann Oberman starring at the Lowry.
The adapted version of the performance will see Tracy-Ann Oberman in Shakespeare’s classic, transported to 1930s East London, against a backdrop of the Battle of Cable Street.
She will be playing Shylock, a Venetian Jewish moneylender alongside Joseph Millson, who previously has starred in The Last Kingdom, Casino Royale and Angel Has Fallen, co-stars as Antonio.
The performance of The Merchant of Venice 1936 (MOV360) will follow London in 1930s 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.
The strong-willed single mother, Shylock, runs a pawnbroking business from her house in Cable Street where Mosley will march. When charismatic and antisemitic aristocrat Antonio comes to her for a loan, a high-stakes deal is struck.
Ahead of the weeklong performances at the Lowry, Tracy-Ann Oberman said: “Having Joe join the cast of MOV36 as the merchant Antonio is the dream.
“He’s such a wonderful actor with a great Shakespearean pedigree and I’ve always admired his work,
“He’s not only a great friend but also an actor who I love being on stage with and I cannot wait to see what happens when my Shylock meets his Antonio in the East End of London, 1936.
“The message of my female Shylock – based on my Great Grandma, a widow in the East End standing up to Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists, with all her neighbours and others horrified by the message of BUF – feels more pertinent than ever,” Tracey continued.
“The play is about unity, standing together against hatred and the play’s impact has been beyond my wildest hopes and ambitions for it.
“Every single bit of it has been a complete joy. It’s been more than a piece of theatre – for me, it’s been a mission. And it lived up to all my expectations.”
She continued: “I can honestly say that when I went into this, it was never with an ego about playing Shylock, it was about wanting to tell the story. I just put my soul into it.”
Tickets are available through the Lowry website, offering accessible BSL and audio described performances of the production.
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