REVIEW BY DG.

GUY Masterson’s Shylock is a master-class in both stage performance and Jewish history.

The audience on the second day of Bewdley Festival were taken on a breathtaking roller-coaster ride by Shakespeare’s Tubal intent on making up for his paltry eight lines in Merchant of Venice.

Comedy and tragedy went hand in hand as the story of anti-Semitism unfolded through the lens of the famous courtroom scene.

The fate of despised minorities everywhere was brought into sharp relief as Masterson identified Portia as a boy dressed as a girl dressed as a boy impersonating a lawyer delivering bad law to the hapless Shylock.

In a brilliant aside, the audience were treated to a mock psycho-analysis of Shylock.

Beginning with his desire to extract the pound of flesh, the quick-fire delivery followed a logical series of associations which ended with Shylock’s complete annihilation as he was metaphorically absorbed into the body of Antonio.

This one man show fills the stage with characters as distinct and varied as those played by Masterson in his bravura rendering of Under Milk Wood at last year’s festival.

Lest we should think that this was all about history and Shakespeare, Masterson’s observation that usury is just another word for banking struck a chord with the contemporary audience, a reminder that some things never change.