The Merchant of Venice "play Antonio as gay". Joseph Fiennes, however, who plays Bassanio, encouraged a homoerotic interpretation and, in fact, surprised Irons with the kiss on set, which was filmed in one take. Fiennes defended his choice, saying "I would never invent something before doing my detective work in the text. If you look at the choice of language … you'll read very sensuous language. That's the key for me in the relationship. The great thing about Shakespeare and why he's so difficult to pin down is his ambiguity. He's not saying they're gay or they're straight, he's leaving it up to his
The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company The Country Wife Directed by Heather Nathans 2009 Cyrano de Bergerac Directed by Ian Gallanar 2009 Twelfth Night Directed by Jenny Leopold 2009 Julius Caesar Directed by Frank Moorman 2010 Lysistrata Directed by Ian Gallanar 2010 Much Ado About Nothing Directed by Ryan Whinnem 2010 Hamlet Directed by Ian Gallanar 2010 Titus Andronicus Directed by Kevin Costa 2011 Cymbeline Directed by Ian Gallanar 2011 A Midsummer Night's Dream Directed by Ian Gallanar 2011 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) Directed by Scott Alan Small 2011 Our Town Directed by Ian Gallanar 2012 The Merchant of Venice Directed by Teresa