scholarly journals Confronting Otherness through Theatre: On Directing The Merchant of Venice for Thai Audiences

MANUSYA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-351
Author(s):  
Dangkamon Na-pombejra
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Set Design ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Male Characters ◽  
New Space ◽  
Identity Conflicts ◽  
Dramatic Arts

Abstract This article analyzes on a new directorial approach to Venice Vanija (เวนิสวาณิช), a Thai version of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (written 1596–99) and translated by King Rama vi (r. 1910–1925). It aimed to create a new space and new rules that would encourage Thai audiences to embrace new perspectives by watching the performance. The production was directed by the author in 2018 in the Department of Dramatic Arts in the Faculty of Arts at Chulalongkorn University. The directing approach focused on the play’s famous line “all that glitters is not gold;” (Act ii, scene vii, line 65), and stressed how struggles between majorities and “the Other” are connected to identity conflicts that contrast with tensions with other people and conflicts within the whole community. The above focus was elaborated by using alienation effects, including a grotesque modern fairytale-like look, a nearly all-female cast, a distinctive traverse stage and set design, effeminate costumes for male characters portrayed by actresses, and mixed acting techniques. The director achieved his goals by concentrating on the message and the main conflicts in the play, transforming “aliens into the allies” through using good surprises and friendly attacks, and respecting every party.

The Image of Jews as Constructed by Lexical Items

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-212
Author(s):  
Xiu Gao
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
The Other ◽  
Western World ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
The Face ◽  
Original Figure ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Target Culture ◽  
Social Backgrounds

In the Western world, Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is controversial due to its stereotypical description of Jews as evil and greedy. In China, the work was not widely known until its translations came out. This article deals with two Chinese renderings of Shakespeare’s classic, by Laura White (1914–1915) and Shiqiu Liang (2001/1936) respectively, which reconstruct the image of Shylock and Jews on the basis of the translators’ perceptions of the original figure, combining their identities and social backgrounds. In imagology, based on the ideas of Pageaux (1989/1994), the image of the ‘other’ can be analysed on three levels: lexical items, larger textual units, and plot. On the face of it, the image of the ‘other’ in translation can originate in either the source or target culture. However, the present article, which focuses on the lexical level, shows that there is a third possibility – a lexicon that blends two or more cultures.

The Textile Black Body

2016 ◽  
pp. 169-185
Author(s):  
Ian Smith
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Black Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Theatrical Representation ◽  
Black Man

In addition to cosmetic applications for early modern ‘blackface’ theatrical representation, the essay posits that performers used a variety of racial prostheses, most notably cloth and animal skins. In The Merchant of Venice, Morocco’s description of his own body as ‘shadowed livery’—that is, dyed cloth worn by a servant or apprentice—reveals a complex metatheatrical consciousness indebted to this prosthetic blackface tradition. Morocco’s identification with livery connects specifically to Lancelot, the other liveried character in the play whose servant uniform contextualizes Morocco’s corporal blackness as a sign of membership in a social underclass. The play’s mercantile ethos, reflecting John Wheeler’s assessment from A Treatise of Commerce that pervasive economic interests bring ‘all things into commerce’, creates the conditions for category violations: people are perceived as commodities, and none more insidiously than Morocco, the textile black man, read, in turn, as a powerful antecedent for post-Enlightenment constructions of race.

scholarly journals Deconstruction of the Construction: Derridean Study of Selected Shakespeare’s Comedies

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 90-120
Author(s):  
Seyyedeh Zahra Nozen ◽  
Pegah Sheikhalipour
Keyword(s):  
William Shakespeare ◽  
The Other ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Twelfth Night ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
As You Like It ◽  
Historical Figure ◽  
The One

Since it was first introduced by Jacques Derrida in the late 1960s, deconstruction, as a method of reading, has been applied to literary texts by critics to reveal the hidden messages of texts and provide opportunities to rethink textual and cultural norms and conventions. While the western tradition has always prioritized tragedy over comedy due to its elegance and graveness, this research tends to focus on comedy as an entity in itself. Tragedy, especially in the Shakespearean sense of the word, has been considered by critics as a “construction” that is well-wrought and perfect in nature. Comedy, on the other hand, is notable for laughing at the laughable and mocking the unfit. Put differently, there has always been a latent, freewheeling “deconstruction” within comedy, especially the Shakespearean. There is, thus, an attempt here to prove, on the one hand, how comedy can be put forth not as an inferior genre but as a supplement to tragedy and, on the other, how comedy moves toward deconstruction and how it tends to subvert or deconstruct the constructions. Investigating a selection of Shakespeare’s comedies including As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night, this study compares and contrasts Shakespearean comedy in light of some Derridean concepts. Along with it, Shakespearean ideas and concepts which are interconnected with those of Derrida are introduced and are buttressed through some meticulously chosen excerpts. Bearing in mind that Derrida is in a habit of deconstructing the so-called established creeds, Shakespeare’s texts are exposed to a deconstructive reading to examine how deceptively simple ideas are dealt with in his selected comedies. Also, as numerous enigmas have for years revolved around the personality of William Shakespeare, this study also aims to take up certain critical idioms of the Derridean canon, elaborate on them and then relate them to the selected plays from the Shakespearean oeuvre in order to disclose some personal aspects of Shakespeare’s personality as a historical figure.

scholarly journals Religion and violence: Shutup Shylock!

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaco Beyers
Keyword(s):  
William Shakespeare ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Response ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Unique Identity ◽  
Religious Differences

Violence is not only because of religious differences. Violence is part of human nature. While expressing and living a unique identity, people may experience animosity from ‘the other’ in society. The natural human response upon infliction is retaliation. To this effect, the play of William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, is taken as an example of conflict in society because of social, financial and religious differences. From the plot in the play, it is deduced that violent actions beget violent responses. The Dutch philosopher, Hans Achterhuis, provides valuable information so as to provide perspectives on violence in society. Achterhuis suggests that instead of seeking the absence of violence in society, one should rather seek how to differ responsible and peaceful from one another. Violence cannot be ignored or eradicated. Violence can however be tamed by fighting with one another peacefully. Society is in need of volunteers who will act as powerful buffers between conflicting societies, thus preventing differences becoming reasons for violence.

The Image of Jews as Constructed by Lexical Items

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-212
Author(s):  
Xiu Gao
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
The Other ◽  
Western World ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
The Face ◽  
Original Figure ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Target Culture ◽  
Social Backgrounds

Abstract In the Western world, Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is controversial due to its stereotypical description of Jews as evil and greedy. In China, the work was not widely known until its translations came out. This article deals with two Chinese renderings of Shakespeare’s classic, by Laura White (1914–1915) and Shiqiu Liang (2001/1936) respectively, which reconstruct the image of Shylock and Jews on the basis of the translators’ perceptions of the original figure, combining their identities and social backgrounds. In imagology, based on the ideas of Pageaux (1989/1994), the image of the ‘other’ can be analysed on three levels: lexical items, larger textual units, and plot. On the face of it, the image of the ‘other’ in translation can originate in either the source or target culture. However, the present article, which focuses on the lexical level, shows that there is a third possibility – a lexicon that blends two or more cultures.

scholarly journals 'Desperately Mortal': Exclusion in Shakespeare's Legal Plays

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R Morss
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Measure For Measure ◽  
The Law ◽  
Human Desire ◽  
Key Characters

<p>Shakespeare’s most explicitly ‘legal’ plays are The Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure. Both examine the interaction between human desire on one hand and the law on the other. In both plays laws cuts through the social hierarchies, either neutralising or exaggerating them. Key characters find their exclusion nullified by the law, and then discover inclusion is far worse than exclusion.</p>

scholarly journals Shakespeare in Chinese Cinema

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (25) ◽  
pp. 71-81
Author(s):  
Hui Wu
Keyword(s):  
Motion Pictures ◽  
The Other ◽  
Chinese Cinema ◽  
Financial Success ◽  
Specific Time ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Story Character ◽  
Woman Lawyer ◽  
Time Culture

Shakespeare’s plays were first adapted in the Chinese cinema in the era of silent motion pictures, such as A Woman Lawyer (from The Merchant of Venice, 1927), and A Spray of Plum Blossoms (from The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1931). The most recent Chinese adaptations/spinoffs include two 2006 films based on Hamlet. After a brief review of Shakespeare’s history in the Chinese cinema, this study compares the two Chinese Hamlets released in 2006—Feng Xiaogang’s Banquet and Hu Xuehua’s Prince of the Himalayas to illustrate how Chinese filmmakers approach Shakespeare. Both re-invent Shakespeare’s Hamlet story and transfer it to a specific time, culture and landscape. The story of The Banquet takes place in a warring state in China of the 10th century while The Prince is set in pre-Buddhist Tibet. The former as a blockbuster movie in China has gained a financial success albeit being criticised for its commercial aesthetics. The latter, on the other hand, has raised attention amongst academics and critics and won several prizes though not as successful on the movie market. This study examines how the two Chinese Hamlet movies treat Shakespeare’s story in using different filmic strategies of story, character, picture, music and style.

scholarly journals Jane Austen Goes to Drury Lane: Identifying Individuals in a Late Georgian Audience

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-25
Author(s):  
David Worrall
Keyword(s):  
Jane Austen ◽  
The Other ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Critical Practice ◽  
Slave Owner ◽  
Assemblage Theory ◽  
Mansfield Park ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Theatrical Performance ◽  
Drury Lane

This essay identifies the theatre box where the novelist, Jane Austen (1775–1817), sat in 1814 to watch Edmund Kean in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. The Folger Shakespeare Library’s Drury Lane Box Book enables calendar analysis of box occupancy with names, titles and, occasionally, addresses. Critical practice has tended to treat audiences as undifferentiated groups. Assemblage theory makes it possible to conceptualise individuals in audiences as equivalent to audiences in their entirety. Sitting in the same box as Austen was Lady Cecil Copley (1770–1819), the divorced 1st Marchioness of Abercorn. Amongst the other boxes were parties formed by wives of army and naval personnel and a British consul to Brazil. A few boxes away sat Jane Akers, née Ramsay (1772–1842), the wife of a St Kitts slave owner. Akers later claimed compensation under the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. That weekend Austen had with her the manuscript of Mansfield Park (1814), a novel recognised as a critique of a fictional parkland estate sustained by slavery. Given the steep cultural differentials evident in this single box tier, it is argued theatrical performance, even in Kean’s re-evaluation of Shylock, may have been only tangential in altering the behaviour of that night’s audience.

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