Sokolova co-authors new examination of ‘The Merchant of Venice’

Notre Dame London Shakespeare scholar Boika Sokolova and co-author Kirilka Stavreva, of Cornell College Iowa, have released their new book "The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare in Performance)." The second edition of this title for Manchester University Press' long-standing Shakespeare in Performance series, Sokolova's book explores Shakespeare's Merchant in the context of its stage history, from the Second World War to the present. The book expands the remit of James C. Bulman’s 1990 first edition by shifting the focus to European theatrical transformations and contemporary cinematic adaptations of one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays.

Stavreva says The Merchant of Venice faces many "misconceptions" in its study, especially regarding Anglocentrism and antisemitism (Cornell College News Center). Sokolova, who has published widely on Shakespeare in performance beyond Britain, interrogates his work as it applies to a wider European context. In exploring Merchant "beyond the English-speaking world," Sokolova explains that this book uses the examination of a collection of European productions of The Merchant of Venice to demonstrate how the play has morphed from dealing strictly with anti-Semitism to exploring prejudice against "Black and Brown people, Muslims, immigrants, women and queer people." Sokolova recounts that this complex, multicultural project was made possible in part by a grant from Notre Dame London that allowed her to work at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.

This is not the end of Sokolova and Stavreva’s research collaboration. Their next book will examine Shakespearean adaptations written by playwrights whose work has trancended national borders and in some cases influenced the performance of their source texts. Sokolova and Stavreva will deliver the keynote address at the 2025 European Shakespeare Research Association Conference in Porto, Portugal.

Sokolova shares her Shakespearean expertise with Notre Dame London students by regularly teaching two courses: Shakespeare in London and Playing Shakespeare. The Notre Dame London faculty member is currently a consultant for a new production of The Merchant of Venice for the Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia, Bulgaria.

"The Merchant of Venice (2nd Edition)" is published by Manchester University Press.