THE MERCHANT OF VENICE / MAUSER
William Shakespeare / Heiner Müller
Translation of William Shakespeare's play: Ľubomír Feldek
Translation of Heiner Müller's play: Jana Wild
PREMIERE: 20 June 2026 at Divadlo P. O. Hviezdoslava in Bratislava
Divadlo P. O. Hviezdoslava
Laurinská 20
811 01 Bratislava
Slovakia
Cast
Shylock: Robert Roth
Antonio: Alexander Bárta
Portia / Chorus: Annamária Janeková
Bassanio / Chorus: Róbert Sipos
Jessica / Nerissa / Chorus: Martina Znamenáčková
Lorenzo / Chorus: Juraj Hrčka
Launcelot / Chorus / Doge: Martin Klinčúch
Creative Team
Adaptation and Direction: Dávid Paška
Dramaturgy: Veronika Kolejáková, Tereza Hladká
Set Design: Julius Leon Seiler
Costume Design: Maria-Lena Poindl
Music: Michal Paľko
What place do compassion and justice have when the cold barrel of a gun is already pressed against the back of one's neck and a knife is poised to strike?
The production by Dávid Paška, a successful Slovak director of the emerging generation, brings together two major dramatic texts – The Merchant of Venice and Mauser. At their centre are the shared themes of compassion and forgiveness in the face of uncompromising and seemingly irresolvable dilemmas.
William Shakespeare's classic The Merchant of Venice tells the story of an unequal conflict between the merchant Antonio and the moneylender Shylock. They inhabit irreconcilable worlds, divided by historical injustice, social inequality and unequally distributed privilege.
Antonio takes out a loan from Shylock and offers an unusual security: should he fail to repay the debt on time, Shylock may cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body. When Antonio runs into difficulties and is unable to repay the money, the dispute is brought before a court, where it becomes quite literally a matter of life and death.
Heiner Müller's provocative one-act play Mauser was banned in East Germany in the 1970s because it challenged the regime's claim to absolute moral authority behind the Iron Curtain. In an atmosphere of cynicism and the ruthless pursuit of self-interest, people are often driven towards an uncompromising stance. Compassion appears to have no place in such a world unless one is prepared to put one's own safety at risk.
To what extent is an individual responsible for the consequences of actions carried out within a system? Is the cruelty committed by an individual in the name of a higher goal a necessary condition for the achievement of justice?