El Mercader de Venècia W. Shakespeare / K. Zschiedrich

The rich city state of Venice, centre of prosperity without precedent since the XIV century, gives Shakespeare an excellent framework to set in motion his combination of themes. El Mercader activates a deep complexity of points of view, which are interrelated from a shared nucleus: the turbulent expansion of the economic power and its impact in human relations. Usury, wealth, mutual hate between the cultures that live together, the vulnerability of foreigners and the perverse use of law create a look into the genesis of the capitalist system and the birth of banking, in the modern sense of the term.

Shakespeare jumps from comedy to tragedy in a dizzying way. With a non-evident irony and high efficiency, he portrays the totality of the social system. The director and dramaturg Konrad Zschiedrich, especially interested in conflicts of this nature, has worked to construct an essential version that concentrates on the movements of capital and the meaning of money and law.

With El Mercader, Shakespeare anticipates the emergence of an individualistic society dominated by the power of the economy.