Originally scheduled for a 2020 run, The Merchant of Venice 1936 has successfully weathered the pandemic!

It is to premiere in Spring 2023, in a partnership between Watford Palace Theatre and Trafalgar Entertainment, supported by the Royal Shakespeare Company with a research and development period earlier this year. Tickets are now on sale for initial performances at Watford Palace Theatre in February and March 2023, ahead of a national tour (dates to be announced).

Leading actor and writer Tracy-Ann Oberman will reinvent the role of Shylock in the hotly anticipated production directed by Brigid Larmour, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Watford Palace Theatre.

The production shines a light on an earlier dark chapter in our history, the growth of a British Fascist party in the 1930s, and the East End community coming together to stop them in the Battle of Cable Street on 4 October 1936.

Rosemary Squire said: “We were struck by Tracy-Ann’s passion for this project and knew we needed to come aboard and help make it happen. We are delighted to be playing a part in this thrilling new version of the Shakespearean classic, alongside the RSC and other supporters, so that as many people as possible can see this important and powerful retelling of The Merchant of Venice.”