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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 2004)
January 9. 2004 * Just out 3g THEATER Our pound of flesh International relations Discos, office buildings and Antonio and Bassanio between the sheets in the all-new The Merchant of Venice by Portland Center Stage welcomes Hungarian director Robert Alfoldi C hristopher M c Q uain hen Chris Coleman, artistic director of Portland Center Stage, traveled to Budapest in early 2001 as part of an international theater exchange, one play stood out from the rest as a candidate for import: a production by Hungarian director Robert “Robi” Alfoldi of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Though Alfoldi’s script retained Shakespeare’s original dialogue and language, he had provocatively transposed the story of a Venetian man named Bas- sanio, his friend Antonio— the titular merchant— and the strange pact made between them and Jew ish moneylender Shyltxrk from 16th century Italy to the contemporary milieu of post-Cold War Hungary. In addition to Alfoldi’s modem settings—discos, offices and apartments, with the action set to video playback and contemporary pop music— the most provocative aspects of the new production were die implicit commentary via Shylock (who has fre Bassanio (far left) has great affection for Antonio (far right) in Hungarian quently been regarded in scholarly circles as an anti- director Robert Alfoldi's new version of Shakespeare’s The M erchant of Venice Semitic gesture) upon the rise of neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism after the fall of communism in Hungary and the fla All the planning and preparation put into arranging the grantly sexual relationship lie tween Antonio and Bassanio. fresh rendering of Merc/umt (including some down-to-the-wire This strong male friendship had been danced around and wrangling over visas for Alfoldi and his translator, described by conjectured about by sundry academics through the years— but PCS artistic producer Rose Riordan as “a very lengthy, compli now it was boldly depicted physically, creating a forthright love cated process...a nail-biting time for all of us”) should result in a triangle with the two and the target o f Bassanio’s marriage plans, rich payoff for anyone fortunate enough to catch the show, the rich heiress Portia, amid the stresses of fledgling capitalism— which promises to be a visually engaging, visceral experience a scenario that wouldn’t be out of place in a Fassbinder film. that bypasses the cerebral to hit below the belt. In Coleman’s diary of the trip, published by The Oregonian No need to fear the boredom of a conventional, by-the- later that year, he wrote, “It was evident to all that Bassanio’s numbers interpretation of the play or the rigors of a postmodern, feelings for Antonio were far more than merely friendly...the deconstnictionist approach, a concept balked at by all parties lights came up to reveal Antonio and Bassanio, wrapped only in involved. “Far from being a subversion of Shakespeare’s text, sheets, one on top of the other on the floor.’’ Robi works within it, taking his lead from the original and O f the triangle’s resolution, Coleman wrote: “It ends with amplifying it,” says PCS literary director Mead Hunter. what looked like a compact between Antonio, Portia and Bas Adds Coleman: “I hate the word ‘deconstruction.’ It makes sanio. Portia and Bassanio would marry— and Antonio would me think of boring...productions that I avoid at all costs. still get some on the side,” before concluding that “it was a [Alfoldi] is trying to make a production that speaks to our lives. dynamic, incredibly provocative production.” You say ‘Eastern European artist’ and everybody here thinks arty Coleman, who is gay, tells Just Out: “It was totally gripping and self-conscious. What I find more and more is that European emotionally. It was about my story. About my life, about my artists are speaking to us in a voice that is filtered through relationships. It felt deeply connected to the 21st century. And American popular culture.... You should expect something very it didn’t hurt that the actors were really sexy.” accessible, direct, funny and alive.” J D W N ow, Merchant is finally hitting Portland, and Alfoldi is coming with it. Excitement crackles in the air at Portland Center Stage as staffers welcome their guest from overseas. “I think it is a unique honor to be able to introduce an artist of this stature to the U .S.,” Coleman says enthusiastically. “I liked Robi immediately. He’s dynamic and funny...land] his work is like him: dynamic, funny, sexy, hold, irreverent.” eatim out eating out Restaurant & Lounge Visit us at www.starkys.com 503 230*7980 * Portland Center Stage presents T h e MERCHANT OF VENICE Jan. 13 to Feb. 1 at Neumark Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway. Tickets are $16'$51 from the box office or 503-274-6588. Gay and Lesbian Audience Night is Jan. 20, with a post-show reception benefit for Cascade AIDS Project. Tickets are $60. CHRISTOPHER eatingout M c Q uain is a Seattle free-lance writer. eafittgouf eating out n addition to originating the internationally acclaimed, award-winning interpretation of The Merchant of Venice he’s now directing for Portland Center Stage, Robert Alfoldi is a highly regarded director and actor as well as a well-known television talk show host in Hungary’. While preparing his U.S. directorial debut in the Rose City, he shares his comments on modernizing Shake speare (or not), the Antonio/ Bassanio relationship and the “Shylock problem." I Robert Alfoldi Christopher McQuain: What specifically made The M erchant of Venice a candidate for the kind of modernization you’ve given it? Robert Alfoldi: In Hungary, after the change of the commu nist system, hatred against all kind of minorities broke out, just like a bad genie from the bottle. Anti-Semitism, primarily...I am stunned by such aggression. I did not look for a piece that 1 could “modernize”. . .it is more of an attitude [of thinking] about classics in a contempo rary way, looking at how it relates to our days. CM : What does the fact that Antonio and Bassanio are now lovers signify? R A : The essential conflict of the play is stronger if Antonio has deeper affection towards Bassanio. But I would like to empha size that this is not my invention; a number of drama and literary historians have pointed out the closeness of their relationship. CM: How did you deal with the play’s perceived anti-Semitism? R A : The question is, if somebody is constantly humiliated and looked down on by others and that motivates his extreme behavior, whether you can consider this [depiction] as anti- Semitism [on] the part of the playwright. Had, indeed, Shake speare been anti-Semitic, he would have never included Shy- kick’s monologue [“Hath not a Jew"] in the piece. C M : Yours was the first Hungarian production of the play in 4 0 years. How did audiences teact? R A : It became an event in Hungary. People talked about it, they initiated conversations. And this is the director’s task: to pose the questions instead of giving answers. C M : Have you made alterations to take into account geographic/societaf/cultural differences? R A : Yes, and [also] because that production was produced eight years ago in a different context, in a different space with different actors. Our production is not a copy of a previous one but one that resonates here in Portland in January 2004. JH eatingout eating out eatingout COFFEE PLANT serving Stumptown Coffee ♦ fresh baked pastries daily sandwiches and snacks ♦ free wireless internet Mention this ad and gat two for one 2913 SE Stark 15% OFF Dinner Entrees between 5:30 & 7pm every day! RI.IIWl
