ian This production of The Merchant of Venice is set in Victorian times, which rather works against the play in some part. The Victorians were far more subtle in their anti-Semitism than the Elizabethans and it just strikes a false note to see it so openly expressed before a Jew by these Victorian gentlemen.Much of the text is there, which is a relief as so many producers think they know better than Shakespeare how to put a play together, although Miller does omit some lines. For instance we don't hear Shylock loudly lamenting his daughter and his ducats, first with 'O my daughter' then 'O my ducats' and switching between the two with the ducats gradually winning out in this tussle between his losses. It's a marvelous moment and, apart from its comic qualities, is very revealing of the avarice at the heart of Shylock.I think Miller left it out because he didn't want people laughing at Shylock too much. But this is after all a comedy rather than a tragedy and it is owing to Shakespeare's genius that we can both laugh at and sympathize with Shylock at different moments of the play. In fact Miller inserts himself too much into this play, especially where Jessica, Shylock's daughter, is concerned. With no justification at all he shows her as becoming discontent with her match with Lorenzo, brooding and regretful. This darkens the close of the play unnecessarily.Miller should have let the play speak for itself without tromping through it in heavy boots to impose a modern sensibility on the actors. It's a shame because those actors are excellent in their roles. This could have been a far better production if Miller had just kept his ego in check a little, but he finds that difficult in most of his productions.It's worth seeing though, as almost every production of Shakespeare is. His words are there and that is really all that counts at the end of the day. BTW at one point Bassanio says to Portia, "Lady, you have bereft me of all words." I know it's the character speaking but for an instant the idea came to my mind of Shakespeare being bereft of words. It was like thinking of the sun not shining or water not being wet. An impossibility!

bkoganbing A chance to see Lord and Lady Olivier in a work of Shakespeare is never to be passed up. Laurence Olivier is the enigmatic Shylock whose interpretation has changed over the century and Joan Plowright whose hand all the young folk in Venice but one seems to want.Of course I came into watching The Merchant Of Venice expecting to see Laurence Oliver doing his patented mittel-Europa accent best known for use in The Boys From Brazil. Instead we got a most cultured Shylock not someone you'd otherwise might think of selling from a pushcart on the Lower East Side.I think Olivier did it this way because Shylock the money lender is trying his best to assimilate into Venetian society as far as he can and still be true to his culture. He only goes so far, daughter Jessica would sooner convert and marry Lorenzo who really is a fortune hunting snake. They are played by Louise Purnell and Malcolm Reid.The main plot however revolves around young Basanio who is Jeremy Brett looking to marry Portia who is the wealthiest young woman around and she's got many suitors. Brett's a nice kid but kind of a spendthrift with his money. He's got an old indulgent friend in Antonio played by Anthony Nicholls who is both a merchant and a moneylender as well in competition with Shylock. He charges a lot less interest and undercuts him in business. That gives Nicholls a lot of pleasure because he doesn't like Jews at all, he's one proud anti-Semite.So Brett needs a backer and Nicholls would like to, but as we would say today he's got a cash flow problem as all his money is tied up with goods at sea in his mercantile business. For past and present slights. Olivier names as his collateral a pound of Nicholls's flesh.For those who've never seen the play these disputes are arbitrated by the Duke Of Venice. And the Duke who is Benjamin Wittrow has a novel interpretation.Over the years as anti-Semitism has become more odious Shylock has become a more sympathetic figure. For centuries he was given the crooked nose, the funny way of speaking and was considered the blackest of villains who gets his in the end. As I said before Shylock is in fact trying to assimilate as best he can, but the people's prejudices are smug and self serving. And his is a natural reaction of a father who doesn't like his daughter's choice of a husband. After all she's marrying a Shegetz in his culture.Even if you're not liking how Olivier sees Shylock he certainly is always interesting and to watch. As this well cast ensemble doing The Merchant Of Venice.

chaswe-28402 One of Shakespeare's most fascinating plays. This production, featuring Olivier, scores 7.6 on IMDb. The Warren Mitchell version scores 7.3, and Al Pacino 7.1. Although I also rate the Pacino version the lowest, I'm not so sure of the order of the other two. But there's no denying the power of Olivier's delivery of the text; and his remarkable ability to extract every nuance with a unique clarity and conviction.It is necessary to dispel the ridiculous notion that Shakespeare didn't know any Jews. Since the Alhambra Decree of 1492 there had been vast numbers of Jewish refugees from the persecution of the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal fleeing to other parts of Europe. This included England, which was particularly attractive since Henry VIII had rejected Roman Catholicism. By the reign of Elizabeth, in 1597, at the time Shakespeare wrote this play, there were a number of Jews in London he would have known. One of these, the Queen's physician, became a victim of local anti-semitism. Another was the dark lady of the sonnets, Emilia Bassano. A convincing case has recently been made for Shakespeare's father as Jewish, and his mother a Roman Catholic. This makes sense, as the onlooker tends to see more of the game. The play is extraordinarily well and subtly written. I believe it could only have been created by someone who was intimately and personally aware of the problems it addresses.This play is not anti-semitic, although some disagree. It is, instead, a snapshot of the effects of anti-semitism. Shylock is a product of the anti-semitic climate of the society that surrounds him, exacerbated by the elopement of his daughter. Its real subject is the cause and nature of revenge, which was an underlying theme in several of Shakespeare's plays, as well as some of those of his contemporaries. Hamlet, Othello, Richard III are arguably all about the psychology of revenge, and its legitimacy, or otherwise. The Christian tenets that one should love one's enemies and turn the other cheek have not noticeably been followed in history. Was much mercy shown to Shylock at his trial ? This production dispenses with Lancelot Gobbo, which is no great loss, since his Elizabethan jokes have dated in a way that the rest of the play has not. There are several other excisions, and the play has been creatively streamlined. There are a number of witty aspects to the text, which remain delightfully recognized. Aragon and Morocco, in my opinion, are funny, although others may find their portrayals ageist and racist. The whole play is inherently sexist, in a witty and amusing manner. There seems little purpose in re-adjusting the time period to late 19th century Venice, but it's not as pointlessly distracting as the Pacino setting. It must be beneficial that both the producer of these two versions, Jonathan Miller, and the directors, Jack Gold and John Sichel, are people with an inside understanding of what it has meant to be Jewish in a non-Jewish environment. This not so true, however, of Olivier, which is why in the final analysis his performance, brilliant though it is, is still an actor's impression of a Jew. Warren Mitchell, in his own words, "enjoyed being Jewish", and somehow that elevates his interpretation.

mrsdanvers Olivier's Shylock is a wonderful characterization, painful to watch (as it should be) at times, but the show belongs to Joan Plowright as Portia. She is the consummate lady, at times abstracted or petulant (did her wise old father perhaps spoil her a bit?) but always magnetic. Jeremy "Freddy Eynsford-Hill" Brett is a sweet young Bassanio (how did he grow up to be Sherlock Holmes?) and Anna Carteret a smooth, smiling Nerissa, and Miller does interesting things with Jessica and Lorenzo in Act Five. My one quibble is with Anthony Nicholls as Antonio. He and Shylock go around like white-haired doppelgangers in black top hats and cloaks, which is a nice touch, but he himself is just *there*. We don't know what Bassanio sees in him, what he sees in Bassanio, why he hates Shylock so much, why Shylock would bother to hate him, if he's at all distressed at the prospect of forfeiting his bond or concerned about his ships. The suitors mug rather and the singing ladies in the final casket scene are somewhat painful, but it's a creditable job overall.