The Shul Shakespearience
An Interactive Look At Whether Shakespeare’s Play The Merchant Of Venice
Can Still Be Taught In Schools and Staged In Theatres In Light of Recent Current Events
With the help of educators and professional actors, including some veterans of the Stratford Festival, this interactive program which has been visiting synagogues since 2024 engages the community in an interactive exploration of Shakespeare’s controversial play, The Merchant Of Venice, addressing its historical context, cultural impact, and contemporary relevance. By diving into the story, themes and characters, audience members review some aspects of the nature of anti-Semitism from an aesthetic perspective. The aim is to promote dialogue, tolerance, and an appreciation of the increased challenges being faced by Jewish communities all over the world in the light of the events of October 7th.
The workshop is intended to
- Provide participants and audience members with a historical context of the play as well as explore the complex issues explored in the piece including its portrayal of anti-Semitism, in an effort to determine whether or not the play fosters or neutralizes hostility toward the Jewish people, through an informed conversation about whether or not it should be staged in these times
- Promote cultural sensitivity and critical thinking among congregants and guests as they analyze the play through a contemporary lens
- Facilitate interfaith dialogue among participants, laying the foundation for an environment where diverse perspectives might be shared
- Strengthen the bonds of the synagogue community be offering a learning experience that fosters discussion and reflection
Workshop Structure:
- Overcoming the Language Problem in Shakespeare: Exploring A Professional Actor’s Approach To Elizabethan Text
- Making A Case For Staging and Studying The Play through Shylock’s soliloquies in Act I, Scene iii and Act III, Scene I
- Making A Case Against Staging And Studying The Play through an exploration of a few lines of Act IV, Scene i with volunteer members of the audience joining the professional actors to read parts of the trial scene
- Rabbi Wrap-Up: The Clergy’s Take On The Debate