Merchant and Victoria

Merchant and Victoria, 17-19 May 2017 (see poster for details)

In his director's note, Thabiso Qwabe states the following:

"When the University’s Drama department approached me with the notion of an adaptation of a William Shakespeare work as part of its explorations into Shakespeare and decolonisation, several ideas immediately sprang to mind. Bearing in mind the precarious situation the world finds itself in, I knew that a tragedy was not on the cards – I wanted to direct a comedy. But which one? After much deliberation and consultation with my colleague Mpumi, I decided upon the Merchant of Venice. While I studied the original script, the old saying  'the more things change, the more they stay the same' continually played in my head. The themes of classism, religious intolerance, love and hate seem to be embedded in the human race – a race that cannot be won.

"The Merchant it was, but I wanted to bring it home to Mzansi: Characters, language, setting all had to be local. I shared my vision with Bailey Snyman and he immediately sparked a lot of interesting and crazy ideas, with an ingenious plan for the movement / choreography – The Merchant and Victoria was on its way. Thank you to the writer Hulisani, to Bailey, the students and the production team for their commitment and hard work. To the Drama department staff my gratitude for your support. Thanks again for the opportunity and malebo to Bra William Shakespeare for the stories of 'everyperson'."