Skip to main content

The Merchant of Venice

L to R, top to bottom: 'The 39 Steps' (photo by Raph Nogal), 'Benevolence' (photo by Jae Yang), 'The Born-Again Crow' (photo by Jeremy Mimnagh), 'Dimanche' (photo by Thomas Müller), 'Last Landscape' (photo by Fran Chudnoff), 'The Merchant of Venice' (photo by Kyle Purcell), 'Slave Play' (photo by Dahlia Katz), 'Waiting for Godot' (photo by Elana Emer), 'The Welkin' (photo by Dahlia Katz). iPhoto caption: L to R, top to bottom: 'The 39 Steps' (photo by Raph Nogal), 'Benevolence' (photo by Jae Yang), 'The Born-Again Crow' (photo by Jeremy Mimnagh), 'Dimanche' (photo by Thomas Müller), 'Last Landscape' (photo by Fran Chudnoff), 'The Merchant of Venice' (photo by Kyle Purcell), 'Slave Play' (photo by Dahlia Katz), 'Waiting for Godot' (photo by Elana Emer), 'The Welkin' (photo by Dahlia Katz).

Twelve indelible moments of performance from 2025

With the lights fading on another year of fleeting thrills in dark rooms, we asked 12 Ontario performing arts writers to reflect on a moment that stayed with them. The results mainly stem from Toronto theatre productions, but there are a few surprises weaved in.

Dec 19, 2025
Production photo from The Merchant of Venice at Shakespeare BASH'd. iPhoto caption: Photo by Kyle Purcell.

REVIEW: How Shakespeare BASH’d transformed The Merchant of Venice into a tense, layered tragedy

Julia Nish-Lapidus’ recently closed production sensitively explored the issues raised in Mark Leiren-Young’s Playing Shylock without purporting to offer any answers.

By Ilana Lucas / Feb 27, 2025
iPhoto caption: Sara Farb as Petra in A Little Night Music. Photo by David Hou

Storytelling Through Song

How could I establish myself at this company, with so many impossibly talented people who had training and more experience in classical theatre, without being able to sing? It was a weird feeling.

By Sara Farb / Jun 20, 2016