And on the third day in London, we saw Merchant of Venice. I really enjoyed Jonathan Pryce’s take on Shylock but the play itself is just so frustrating. Terrance hid in my purse because he could not stand how the villains win in the end. Even though he played the character really strongly, there was so much sympathy evoked in the audience. I think the role wasn’t played villainously but, he was being persecuted as a Jew. The other players made it out that he was the villain so it came off like that to the audience as well. He was successful with the realistic devotion to his religion. His portrayal of Shylock was so beautiful and vulnerable. When he was forced to convert to Christianity, he dropped to his knees and pleaded for mercy, then death. His dedication was so prevalent in everything that he did; the whimpering, the pleading, the crying during the christening. Everything about it was heart wrenching because, all he wanted was his money and his daughter, anyone would want that. I,also, want to point out how amazing his daughter was in the show. She really played the tortured creature. She was being pulled in opposite directions by two men she loved and when she made the choice to desert her father and religion for a man, it was devastating. The final scene: brilliant. I could not clap hard enough at how beautifully the director added to Shakespeare. The choice to add the christening was so out of the box. The harmony between the Yiddish mourning song and the Christen prayer song in Latin was breath taking. I wanted to cry and scream but couldn’t say a word. It was the only way I could every watch Shakespeare again. I have never really been a fan of his writing but, finally seeing good Shakespeare done in original practice, in the yard, was a life changing experience. I complained because my feet were killing me from all the walking but, I want to do that again. I want to be in the yard (on the ground) and interact with the actors. To me, there’s no other way now. The picture is of Terrance "on" the stage.