“It is modern. There are mobile phones in it. When Shylock speaks to Tubal, it’s a phone call"

Many of us have seen The Merchant of Venice, perhaps Shakespeare’s most controversial play, featuring Shylock, the reviled Jewish moneylender. But now, theatre director Bill Alexander, who has directed the play several times to much acclaim, has created this “all-new modern-day adaptation”, set in what he calls the "blackly comic world of modern Venice", tellingly entitled A Merchant of Venice – did you spot the indefinite article?

In Alexander’s version which, he says, "focuses on just six key characters, their entangled loves, desires and fortunes", Peter Tate plays Shylock. He is also co-artistic director (with Anthony Biggs) of The Playground Theatre in west London. He spoke to JR’s arts editor Judi Herman about the loves, desires and fortunes of Shylock, and the joys and challenges of running one of London’s newest theatres, which is currently welcoming Shakespeare In Italy, the company behind the production, with its brief to take the works of Shakespeare to new audiences in exciting and interesting ways.

A Merchant of Venice runs until Saturday 4 December. 7.30pm, 2.30pm (Thu & Sat only). From £13.50. The Playground Theatre, W10 6RQ. theplaygroundtheatre.london

Read our review of A Merchant of Venice on the JR blog.