Merchant of Venice gets a Palestinian twist

Actor Makram Khoury to play Shylock in Shakespearen classic .

London theater enthusiasts who plan to reel into the Royal Shakespeare Company’s latest production of The Merchant of Venice are in for quite a revelation when they discover that the actor playing Shylock is a Palestinian. Makram Khoury has been cast to play the pivotal role in the Shakespeare’s classic, the Telegraph reported. Khoury, born in Jerusalem, has over 50 years of acting experience under his belt. He has been cast in Israeli as well as Hollywood productions, such as hit TV series The West Wing, House of Saddam, and Steven Spielberg’s film Munich.

Shylock, the Jewish merchant is one of Shakespeare’s best-known and most controversial characters. “People gang up on you when you play Shylock,” said actor Patrick Stewart, who has undertaken the role in a previous production of the play. “But what keeps you coming back to him is that he has some of the most interesting, colourful and idiosyncratic language in Shakespeare. Nobody else speaks like Shylock. It sets him apart,” added Stewart, reported Haaretz News.

The play will open in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon on May 14. 69-year-old Khoury whose a native Jerusalemite, hails from a Christian family. He spent his childhood in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. Khoury is an applauded actor in Israel where he has received awards in recognition of his work. The star was the subject of controversy after he was cast to play a Holocaust survivor in the Israeli film Magic Men. He was cast as a result of a controversial decision by Israeli director Erez Tadmor. “A lot of producers didn’t want Makram. It was a serious problem. People said he doesn’t know about the Holocaust and about Judaism. They said no-one will come to the movie. They shut the door in our faces,” Radmor had said.

Patsy Ferran, winner of Most Promising Newcomer at the Critics’ Circle Awards, will play Portia.

Published in The Express Tribune, March  3^rd,  2015.

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