Tracy-Ann Oberman to reprise role in 'The Merchant of Venice 1936' in the West End

EastEnders and Doctor Who actor Tracy-Ann Oberman became the first British actress to play Shylock when The Merchant of Venice 1936 toured the UK last year.

Tracy-Ann Oberman is set to reprise her role as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice 1936 at the Trafalgar Theatre in the West End this December for a limited season.

Oberman (EastEnders, Doctor Who, Friday Night Dinner) became the first British actress to play Shylock when the production toured the UK in 2023, before opening at the Criterion Theatre in February this year.

After the production closes on 25 January, 2025, the show will then embark on a second UK tour for eight weeks.

Adapted by Brigid Larmour and Oberman, William Shakespeare’s classic play has been transported to 1930s East London against the backdrop of the Battle of Cable Street.

Oberman said: “I am so delighted that, by popular demand, MOV1936 is coming back into the West End so soon after we finished. Demand has been so high that I feel bringing it back, and this time to the beautiful Trafalgar Theatre and then on a national tour, is essential. The message of my female Shylock - based on my Great Grandma, a widow in the East End standing up to Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists, with all her neighbours and others horrified by the message of BUF - feels more pertinent than ever. The play is about unity, standing together against hatred and the play’s impact has been beyond my wildest hopes and ambitions for it.”

In a review for London Theatre, our critic said: "Oberman has brought plenty of new audiences to Shakespeare and made a problematic play feel accessible and urgent. She also makes us face our own history – and entreats us not to repeat it."

Book The Merchant of Venice 1936 tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: Tracy-Ann Oberman in The Merchant of Venice 1936. (Photo courtesy of production)