Anger as school ‘plans Merchant of Venice about Islamophobia’ - The Jewish Chronicle

Amy Winehouse’s old performing arts school has discussed introducing the theme of Islamophobia to Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, prompting concerns from a Jewish parent.

The parent was angered by the proposed production by The BRIT School, telling the JC it “negates the seriousness of antisemitism”.

While the parent had no objection to the play being staged, she was worried that changing its premise could send a signal that “antisemitism doesn’t matter and Islamophobia is much more important”.

She also said she was not against the idea of a non-Jewish actor playing the part of Shylock, but feared the production would brush antisemitism “under the carpet as if it’s not important”.

But Stuart Worden, headteacher at the school in Croydon, said Shylock was “written as a member of the Jewish community” and stressed that the school had no intention of changing the script.

He added that the production was “still in early discussion”, and that no rehearsals had taken place. No decision had been made on whether it should go ahead, he added.

The idea was presented as a possible project during an initial 30-minute presentation with four students earlier this month.

Mr Worden told the JC: “Your intervention is incredibly sound and really, really welcomed because it’s still very early days.

“And, of course, you cannot do The Merchant of Venice in any form without discussing its relevance to the Jewish community in its depiction of Shylock.

“That is the centre of the play. That is the heart and soul of it and every educational setting would be beholden to do so.”

Shakespeare’s intentions in the play, which was published more than 50 years before the readmission of Jews to England, has divided critics for centuries.

Last year, the children’s author Sir Michael Morpurgo omitted it from his book, Tales from Shakespeare, because of its “antisemitic” overtones.

Modern retellings have, however, sought to portray Shylock as a victim rather than a villain.

The late stage actor Sir Antony Sher, who starred as Shylock in a 1987 production of the play, recalled in The Guardian in 2011 how “our production really emphasised the antisemitism of the Christians: they abused and spat at Shylock”.

He said: “I had an awful lot of other actors’ saliva in my beard, and when it’s your own beard you really want to shampoo it all off. So there was no question of the play itself being antisemitic — because you could see how badly this Jewish man was being treated.

“You saw him being pushed to a level of revenge that is understandable, even if it is ugly.”

In 2016, the Anti-Defamation League published a guide for schools teaching The Merchant of Venice with context about antisemitism through history and 16th century England.

The famous play tells the story of Shylock, a Jewish money lender who agrees to give a loan to a Venetian merchant, Antonio.

When Antonio fails to repay him on time, Shylock demands a “pound of flesh” in return.

Topics:

Schools

Antisemitism