Dybbuk at The Museum of Jewish Montreal: The Merchant of Venice (Annotated), or In Sooth I Know Not Why I Am So Sad

For artists, titles are of paramount importance. They are the first glimpse into a piece, serving as an introduction, invitation, exposition, and argument all at once. For Dybbuk, a theatre group based out of Los Angeles, their title is a peek into a more complex, unorthodox artistic vision. At first, the name might be perplexing—evoking mythic spirits; preternatural urges; or the renowned Yiddish play, Dybbuk by S. An-sky. But beyond its allusions to the supernatural, Dybbuk captures something deeper. To understand its significance, I spoke with Aaron Henne, the artistic director of Dybbuk, whose insights illuminated the title’s layered meaning.

“Choosing the name Dybbuk was a way of communicating to the audience that . . . we are doing work that touches the darker side of things,” Henne explained to me, “things that ask questions of the underneath.” A Dybbuk—a wandering spirit in Jewish folklore that possesses the bodies of the living—assumes a more phenomenological role in Henne’s conception of his company. “We purposefully chose a name for those who are “Jewishly” knowledgeable . . . but for those who aren’t, it’s the beginning of a conversation.” The title invites Jewish interpretations but doesn’t alienate non-Jewish or unfamiliar audiences in the process. 

This interplay of specificity and universality was on full display during a performance of The Merchant of Venice (Annotated), or In Sooth I Know Not Why I Am So Sad by Dybbuk at The Museum of Jewish Montreal on November 14. The lengthy title borrows a line spoken by Antonio in the original Merchant of Venice, in which he laments his mysterious melancholy. In Sooth was presented in a “reduced” form—the actual production features sets, costumes, choreography, and stage lighting—whereas this performance was just a staged reading. The show enters Shakespeare’s infamous comedy by way of Shylock, who becomes the interpretive golden goose in Dybbuk’s reinterpretation. While In Sooth acknowledges the antisemitism within the original play, it leverages Shylock’s legacy to explore broader prejudices rampant in both Shakespeare’s time and our own. 

Curious about how Dybbuk uses Jewish experience to address universal questions, I asked Henne to speak about his Jewish identity and its connection to Dybbuk’s artistic vision. “The Jewish experience is filled with feelings of belonging and feelings of not belonging, tensions between being a part of and being apart from,” he said. “Creat[ing] work that speaks to those tensions feels like I’m speaking to some fundamental truth for myself and for a lot of others as well.”

Dybbuk’s In Sooth unfolds as a “pause and play” narrative, drawing pointed comparisons between Elizabethan England and modern-day America. Over the course of 90 minutes, audiences are immersed in a labyrinth of references, sardonic footnotes, and aphoristic detours. The performance juxtaposes Shakespeare’s world with our own, creating a stark dialogue between past and present. 

Between each scene, the stage transforms into an eerie void filled with cacophonous, dissonant political commentary, bleak news excerpts, and modern chaos. Actors pound imaginary garbage cans and trudge through mountains of cash strewn about the stage—a nod to the original Merchant’s Antonio, who, despite his riches, bemoans his unhappiness. 

The blending of eras underscores what Henne and his creative team noticed while working on the script. A brief write-up on Dybbuk’s website explains that “[1596 to 1598] was a period of great uncertainty in English society . . . concerns about the government’s stability under an ageing leader and significant economic stresses [were present].” The description suggests that in Merchant “these societal pressures can perhaps be seen in [the] portrayal of Shylock, the Jewish moneylender.” 

After the reading of In Sooth, Henne, acting as narrator, invited the audience to engage in discussion.. Responding to a question, he remarked, “As a Jewish artist in theatre, Shylock is always there; he cannot be ignored.” In Dybbuk’s reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic play, Shylock’s complex and contentious nature serves as a lens to explore the challenges of our own world. However, Henne emphasized that Dybbuk does not aim to resolve every question. Concluding the discussion, he left the audience with a thought that’s central to Dybbuk’s ideology: “Good art comes from a deep lack of understanding, a search for understanding.” 

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