Police secure opening night of London play over Jewish actress safety fears
Police were present outside London's Criterion Theatre as actress Tracey-Ann Oberman appeared in the West End opening of the Merchant of Venice 1936 production
Police mounted a guard outside a West End theatre on the opening night of a play starring the Jewish Eastenders actress Tracey-Ann Oberman over fears of antisemitic attacks.
Officers monitored spectators attending the Criterion Theatre’s opening night of the Merchant of Venice 1936 production, which stars the 57 year-old actress after she received menacing online abuse.
Oberman, known for her role as Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera, has been an outspoken campaigner against the rise of antisemitism, particularly in Labour under Jeremy Corbyn.
Oberman appears as Shylock, in the new adaptation of the Shakespeare play which has just transferred to the West End and reimagines London on the brink of political unrest, with fascism sweeping across Europe and Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists threatening a paramilitary march through the Jewish East End.
It is understood that following Oberman’s earlier appearances in the play at Stratford’s Swan Theatre, and after a series of media interviews to promote it, she received vile abuse, some of which appeared threatening online.
This is what we've come to. The police having to secure a line of theatregoers waiting to get into the Criterion Theatre to see Tracey-Ann Oberman's production of Merchant of Venice for fear of antisemitic violence. suffice to say T-A O is a bloody hero pic.twitter.com/d30HkdThy1
— Stephen Gilchrist ????????????????????️ (@gilchristawake) February 15, 2024
Friends say she became so concerned about the transfer of the show into the West End that her representatives altered the Metropolitan Police, who took the threats so seriously they maintained a presence outside the London theatre as the play opened this week.
One member of the audience Stephen Glichrist posted on X/Twitter about the presence of police officers as he attended the opening night.
He wrote:”This is what we’ve come to. The police having to secure a line of theatregoers waiting to get into the Criterion Theatre to see Tracey-Ann Oberman’s production of Merchant of Venice for fear of antisemitic violence. Suffice to say T-A O is a bloody hero.”
Tellingly, the actress shared the post on her own platform on X last Thursday.
After the transfer of the play to the Criterion was confirmed Oberman said:”“It has been a lifelong cherished dream of mine to bring this play to the stage in a new way, reimagining Shylock as one of the tough, no-nonsense Jewish matriarchs I grew up around.
“The love we have experienced from theatre audiences around the country for the way that this story is told has propelled us into the West End. I’m delighted that my dream has touched hearts and minds along the way. This transfer to the Criterion – which could not be more timely – will continue to spread the message that we are stronger together.”
But a friend of the actress said:”Tracey is really nervous at the moment like a lot of Jewish people are with the rising tide of antisemitism in this country, with people mixing up their anger at Israeli actions in Gaza with attacks on Jews in this country.
“She was very grateful to learn that police were outside the theatre on the opening night.”
Earlier this week it was confimed that reports of antisemitic incidents in the UK reached a record high last year.
The Community Security Trust (CST) recorded reports of 4,103 anti-Jewish hate incidents in 2023, up from 1,662 in 2022 and almost double the previous record of 2,255 hit in 2021.
Its annual report relies on figures from incidents that are self-reported.
Two-thirds of incidents happened on or after the Hamas attacks on 7 October.
The Metropolitan Police and Oberman have been contacted for comment.
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