The Merchant of Venice

Bring a blanket, a chair and a picnic and enjoy Shakespeare under the stars. Shore Shakespeare announces its annual 2019 tour The Merchant of Venice. All shows this year are free for audiences. The tour commences the weekend of August 30th at Long Wharf Park in Cambridge, continues the following weekend of September 6-8 at the Oxford Community Center in Oxford and concludes at the wharf in Centreville the weekend of September 13th. Friday and Saturday shows will be at 6pm and Sunday show at 5pm. This year's play, considered both a problem play and a comedy is one of Shakespeare's more controversial works. Set in 16th century Venice, it is on the surface a romantic comedy featuring a love tested by obstacles placed in the path of the lovers. But the play also examines the darker themes of intolerance, tribalism, betrayal, and revenge- personified through the characters of Antonio a Christian merchant and Shylock, a Jewish money lender.