William Shakespear’s 500-year-old play is often seen as including antisemitic tropes, especially in the character of Jewish money lender Shylock
January 15, 2026 13:19
A Sydney theatre company has postponed an upcoming performance of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice in the wake of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack amid concerns about antisemitic themes within the play.
Community theatre group Such Stuff was set to open its production today, performing at multiple theatres around Sydney suburbs.
The decision to delay production until August came after several actors spoke of reservations about performing the play so soon after the Chanukah massacre on December 14, which left fifteen people dead.
The Merchant of Venice includes tropes which critics of the play have argued are antisemitic.
The main antagonist of the work is Shylock, a Jewish moneylender who demands a pound of flesh from the protagonist, Antonio, instead of interest, who is later forced to convert to Christianity.
Director Paul Kininmonth made the decision to postpone after three actors felt it was not the right time, according to Australian news outlet The Brisbane Times
He said the postponement was announced "in light of recent events within our community, and with the wellbeing of our artists and audiences foremost in mind”.
"This pause allows space for healing after the Bondi tragedy and ensures we can return to the work with the care, focus and integrity it deserves,” he wrote.
"Lots of Jewish people have uneasy feelings about the play, and after Bondi, they were hyper-vigilant about Shylock throwing fuel on the fire, so Bondi really destabilised our production and a number of actors in the group.
"Professionally, it can become an issue for an actor if they get a bad rap on social media – one actor was conscious of career implications, and a couple were really hammered by the stress of it all.”
One actor who favoured the performance being postponed was Ebony Halliday. She said: "It was a very traumatic and intense thing to have happened, and I wanted to make sure if it went forward, it was handled nicely.
“In the end, it was a personal choice. I wasn’t comfortable, I wanted to pull back. Paul made the decision. ‘Not right now’ was the feedback.”
Catharine Lumby, a professor of online culture at the University of Sydney, said the decision to postpone showed "sensitivity", and added for future productions: "Shylock provides an opportunity for people to understand antisemitism is an ancient hatred – it’s something that Jewish people have lived with for millennia.
"It is probably good to give the actor and actors time to reflect on how they’re going to present character… I think we need to listen to the Jewish community, draw a deep breath and recognise the impact of the massacre at Bondi."
All tickets to the postponed shows have been refunded.
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