The Merchant of Martha’s Vineyard

Riksteatern Crea relocates the action of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice to the island of Martha’s Vineyard in the United States, one hundred years in the future.
By this time, the digital world has collapsed and an alternative society has emerged on the island.

Here, a group of Deaf idealists live in a strong, close-knit community. But it doesn’t take long before power struggles and greed begin to challenge the idyll.

The Merchant of Martha’s Vineyard, with a script by Filip Burman, directed by Debbie Z. Rennie and dramaturgy by Magnus Lindman, is a sharp farce that casts new light on the power dynamics of our time. It also recalls the true history of Martha’s Vineyard, where for 200 years all inhabitants—Deaf and hearing alike—used sign language.