October 23 | 7:30pm (PT) | Lincoln Recital Hall, Portland State University | The show is currently fully booked, but it is likely that some seats will become available on the night of the performance. If you wish, you may come to Lincoln Recital Hall on October 23 at 7:00 and request to be added to the standby list.
What can a play from sixteenth-century England tell us about how antisemitism and other prejudicial beliefs operate in our world today? theatre dybbuk’s latest theatrical production brings together elements of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice with Elizabethan history and news from the 21st century to expose the underbelly of the classic play. The multidisciplinary work takes a kaleidoscopic view of the ways in which members of a society displace their fears on the “other” during times of upheaval.
The Merchant of Venice (Annotated), or In Sooth I Know Not Why I Am So Sad is presented in five acts and runs 2 hours and 45 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission. This performance is being presented as part of Shakespeare’s First Folio: 1623–2023, a city-wide celebration of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the first folio.
theatre dybbuk is in residency in Portland through a partnership that includes the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE), Mittleman Jewish Community Center (MJCC), Eastside Jewish Commons (EJC), and Portland State University (PSU), with the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland acting as the hub partner. This event is supported in part by a grant from The Covenant Foundation. You can find a complete list of the theatre dybbuk Portland performances and workshops here.
theatre dybbuk creates provocative new works that blend physical theatre with poetry and music for exciting, utterly singular live events. The company explores the rich world of Jewish history, building lyrical performances that illuminate the universal human experience for contemporary audiences. With an in-depth development process that can range from a few months to three years, Artistic Director Aaron Henne builds each piece with a cast of dedicated professional actors, designers, musicians, and scholars. The resulting works, from the dark and visceral dance theatre of cave… a dance for Lilith to the shadowy and immersive hell prepared: a ritual exorcism inspired by kabbalistic principles, performed within a dominant cultural context, are challenging and beautiful to behold.