Review Roundup: RSC's MERCHANT OF VENICE

Stage and screen star Patrick Stewart stars in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, directed by Rupert Goold. Set in Las Vegas, the production runs through October 4.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE is one of Shakespeare's most thrilling and controversial plays, rich with love and betrayal, forgiveness and revenge. The Jewish moneylender Shylock makes a loan to Antonio, a Christian merchant. Their loan contract, steeped in prejudice and centered on the play's infamous "pound of flesh," sweeps the two men and everyone in their worlds into chaos. Only the insightful Portia can imagine a way forward, but for her and those she loves, even "the quality of mercy" has its limits.

For more information, visit: www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/merchant

Michael Billington, The Guardian: This is a dazzling production that gathers strength as it goes along. It may seem a gimmick to have Launcelot Gobbo played by Jamie Beamish as an Elvis impersonator, but it yields a handsome return when Portia's climactic breakdown is accompanied by the strains of Are You Lonesome Tonight.

Charles Spencer, The Telegraph: I have always found the Merchant of Venice one of the most tedious and unlovable of Shakespeare's plays and at first I welcomed Goold's irreverent approach, for it has a witty panache about it. And if you want to depict an unappealing, supposedly Christian society obsessed with money, where better to choose than Las Vegas, with its casinos, marriage chapels and all-you-can eat buffets?

Simon Tavener, Whatsonstage: Yes, this production is set in Vegas - a city of money, sleaze and excess. The show explodes into life with an Elvis impersonator and showgirls leading the company in "Viva Las Vegas"! I will refrain from spoiling too many of the details, as the joy of this production is the way Goold has taken something so familiar and made it work in a new, original, entertaining and thought-provoking way.

Alistair Smith, The Stage: Kicking off with a big song and dance number and transforming Gobbo into an Elvis tribute act, the production embraces its theme with no small amount of relish. Patrick Stewart's Shylock is a casino kingpin, while Bassanio and his retinue become macho mobsters. It is a transposition that for the most part works remarkably, bringing a real sense of dynamism and energy to the play and giving it a filmic quality that has been present in much of the director's work.