In 2016 the stars will align. It is the year of an extraordinary intersection, the 500th anniversary of the formation of the Jewish Ghetto in Venice and the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. To commemorate these historic anniversaries, Compagnia de’ Colombari and Ca’Foscari University of Venice join forces to provide a major event of world theater: an imaginative, ambitious production of The Merchant of Venice to be performed for the first time in the still-extant (and newly revitalized) Jewish Ghetto on 26-31 July 2016. A performance in English and multiple languages directed by Karin Coonrod with an international cast will bring The Merchant to life in a way almost impossible anywhere else, investigating its poignant and painful exploration of love and hate, avarice and mercy, and, above all, what it means to be human. The event is part of the official program of the Ghetto Quincentennial.