Merchant on Venice Reviews

 
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Merchant on Venice</div>
Merchant on Venice

Gay Chicago Magazine
By Venus Zarris
October 25, 2007

Once again, Silk Road fearlessly tackles misconceptions and misrepresentations as only the arts can. Merchant on Venice is not only exceptionally ingenious in its reinterpretation of this classic tale of brutal bigotry and revenge but serves the purpose of illuminating the overlooked and thereby emancipating the general perceptions of our all too homogenized body-politic.

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Merchant on Venice</div>
Merchant on Venice

TimeOut Chicago
By Kris Vire
October 11, 2007

Playwright Shishir Kurup’s bracing, ingenious pop-cult revamp of Shakespeare’s Merchant proves that the Bard’s themes and style still resonate.

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Merchant on Venice</div>
Merchant on Venice

Windy City Media Group
By Mary Shen Barnidge
October 10, 2007

That we, too, recognize the justice and logic of his arguments is predominantly due to the intelligent, intensely-wrought performance of Anish Jethmalani, cast against type as the embittered Sharuk, with Kamal Hans' Devendra proving an able sparring partner.

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Bold Merchant</span> melds Bard, Bollywood
Bold Merchant melds Bard, Bollywood

Chicago Tribune
By Chris Jones
October 8, 2007

I found this Merchant 10 times as funny, smart and intellectually stimulating as The Bomb-itty of Errors, which it slightly resembles. And that has been a hit across the country. For sure, this piece is a must-see for anyone who follows progressive approaches to Shakespeare.

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The Bard goes Bollywood
The Bard goes Bollywood

Daily Herald
By Barbara Vitello
October 5, 2007

[It's] Kurup's wit and wordplay ("Will The Circle Be Unbroken" lyrics become a pun on the Hindu word for brother) and the pop culture references (everything from GlaxoSmithKline, The Clash and the Rat Pack to Fred Segal and Paris Hilton) peppering the play that make it so palatable to a 21st century audience.

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Eight-Forty-Eight: Dueling Critics
Eight-Forty-Eight: Dueling Critics

Chicago Public Radio
By Jonathan Abarbanel
October 5, 2007

The irony of Shylock being a Muslim in this case, rather than a Jew, is an added layer in Kurup's rich, rhymed text that's clever and funny and pointed and heartfelt and filled with wonderful multicultural references appropriate to their Southern California melting pot.

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Highly Recommended: Merchant on Venice</span>
Highly Recommended: Merchant on Venice

Chicago Reader
By Kerry Reid
October 4, 2007

Shishir Kurup doesn't merely update the Elizabethan vernacular (he keeps the iambs) in his bold, smart, sardonic reinvention of one of Shakespeare's most troubling plays. He also skillfully weaves in post-9/11 paranoia about "the other" as well as the prejudices of competing immigrant groups on LA's Venice Boulevard.

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The Bard meets Bollywood in a funny, sharp production
The Bard meets Bollywood in a funny, sharp production

Chicago Critic
By Tom Williams
October, 2007

Merchant on Venice is funny, articulate and poignant as the cross-cultural conflicts are dramatically presented amongst the background of Venice, California’s obsession with pop cultures. This show is energetic, well paced and engaging.

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Blood Brothers: A modern twist on Shakespeare's Merchant</span> presents a new set of religious tensions
Blood Brothers: A modern twist on Shakespeare's Merchant presents a new set of religious tensions

October, 2007
By Catey Sullivan

Merchant on Venice retains the dark currents of the original while deliriously colliding headlong into the Indian equivalent of a Busby Berkeley spectacular.

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Worldly Hindus take on a strict Muslim: Take another look at the Bard's Merchant</span>
Worldly Hindus take on a strict Muslim: Take another look at the Bard's Merchant

Chicago Sun-Times
By Hedy Weiss
October 1, 2007

Note to New York's Public Theater, producer of Shakespeare in Central Park: Send a scout to see the Silk Road Theatre Project's hip, funny, ingeniously reconfigured world premiere of Merchant on Venice, Shishir Kurup's reinvention of Shakespeare's most controversial play.

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Merchant on Venice</div>
Merchant on Venice

The Epoch Times
By Al Bresloff
September 30, 2007

"Bollywood" has come to Chicago! Silk Road Theatre Project has opened its new season with a world premiere of Shishir Kurup's Merchant on Venice, a comic look at what would happen if The Bard met Bollywood... If you have ever seen one of these films, you will know what to expect. If not, you will find yourself "loving it!"

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