10 – 15 February
Acclaimed staging of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 1936 tours to Theatre Royal Bath starring Tracy-Ann Oberman, Joseph Millson and Georgie Fellows.
Shakespeare’s enduring classic is transported to 1930s East London against a backdrop of political unrest and the Battle of Cable Street in this thrilling stage performance. The Merchant of Venice 1936 visits Bath as part of an eight-week UK tour following successful West End seasons at the Trafalgar Theatre in 2024/2025 and the Criterion Theatre in 2024, and an inaugural sell-out UK tour.
With the city on the brink of political unrest, fascism sweeping across Europe and Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists threatening a paramilitary march through the Jewish East End, strong-willed single mother Shylock runs a pawnbroking business from her house in Cable Street where Mosley will march. When charismatic, antisemitic aristocrat Antonio comes to her for a loan, a high-stakes deal is struck. Will Shylock take her revenge, and who will pay the ultimate price?
Tracy-Ann Oberman reprises her starring role as the first British actress to play Shylock. She is joined by Joseph Millson who plays the roles of Antonio and Arragon. This smash hit production also features Georgie Fellows, who hails from Bath, as Portia, Evie Hargreaves as Mary and Nerissa, Mikhail Sen as Lorenzo and Maharajah, and Elly Roberts as Stefania and Blackshirt. Also reprising their West End roles are Gavin Fowler as Bassanio, Gráinne Dromgoole as Jessica, Xavier Starr as Gratiano and Alex Zur as Yuval, The Duke and Blackshirt.
Tracy-Ann Oberman said: “The message of my female Shylock – based on my Great Grandma, a widow in the East End standing up to Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists, with all her neighbours and others horrified by the message of BUF – feels more pertinent than ever. The play is about unity, standing together against hatred and the play’s impact has been beyond my wildest hopes and ambitions for it.”
Tracy-Ann Oberman is well known on television for her roles including Chrissie Watts in over 200 episodes of EastEnders; Fiona Kennedy in New Tricks; Mrs Purchase in Toast of London; Val in Friday Night Dinner; Rebecca in After Life and Helen Chambers in Code 404. Her stage credits range from Edmond with Kenneth Branagh to the West End run of Boeing Boeing. Previously at Bath’s Theatre Royal, she has performed in Macbeth in 1994, The Vagina Monologues in 2010, Earthquakes in London in 2011, Stepping Out in 2016, which transferred to the West End, and Noises Off in 2022, which transferred to the West End.
Joseph Millson’s many screen roles include Dr Sam Morgan in Peak Practice; Alan Jackson in The Sarah Jane Adventures; Luc Hemingway in Holby City; Aelfric in The Last Kingdom; guest roles in numerous series ranging from Protection and Endeavour to Van der Valk, and the films Casino Royale, River of Blood and Enid. Joseph returns to Bath after starring alongside Tracy-Ann Oberman in Noises Off in 2022, prior to a West End transfer in 2023. His previous productions at the Theatre Royal also include Betrayal in 2020, As You Like It in The Peter Hall Season 2003 and Salad Days in 1997.
Georgie Fellows, who hails from Bath, attended Curtain Up Theatre School locally before graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Her theatre credits include the title role in Sappho at London’s Southwark Playhouse; Henry I for Rabble Theatre and The Living Newspaper at the Royal Court Theatre. Her screen credits include Surface on Apple TV+, The Day of the Jackal for Sky, Red, White & Royal Blue for Amazon and Secret Invasion for Marvel/Disney+.
The creative team for The Merchant of Venice 1936 features Brigid Larmour (Director), Tracy-Ann Oberman (Associate Director), Liz Cooke (Costume and Set Design), Rory Beaton (Lighting Design), Sarah Weltman (Sound Design), Erran Baron Cohen (Composer) and Annabel Arden and Leah Hausman (Movement Directors).
The Merchant of Venice 1936 tours to the Theatre Royal Bath from Monday 10th to Saturday 15th February. To book tickets contact the Box Office on 01225 448844 or book online at theatreroyal.org.uk
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
