On the 23rd may 2014 I watch ‘The Merchant of Venice’.
I really like how they made the play modern. All the players were on their iPads and iPhones. The scenes were set in pubs, offices and flashy buildings. I also like how the performance was kept to the Shakespeare script. The only difference is Old Gobbo, Launcelot’s father was not in the performance.
What I dislike about the performance is it was based more on the love stories and disregarded the hatred against non-christian.
Compared to the first Merchant of Venice I watched, in Worcester Cathedral-October 2013, 
I like this one better because:
1. I couldn’t understand the Worcester’s play and I fell asleep; but I understood this performance because I had studied the written play at home.
2. The Worcester’s play didn’t have much inflated acting. It was mainly speech; But in this performance it is dramatized. For example, Launcelot in this performance is much more jumpy and gay. He was silly like a jester.
3. The Worcester’s players (apart from Prince Aragon) were very serious but in this performance The Singapore Repertory Theatre were lively. They were running around the bigger stage, changing into different costumes, dancing and kissing. The Singapore teenage audience were going crazy over the love scenes.
What impressed me most in this performance was the fact that it was modern. They would sometimes have texting, emailing and showing pictures on their phone. This I can relate to.
iamjonjon 