Warren Mitchell described himself as an atheist, but, in his own words, "enjoyed being Jewish". As soon as he appears in this production, Act I Scene III, interest in the plot and the performances picks up. Until then, the opening scene is somewhat tedious and burdened with exceedingly garrulous and uninteresting characters, until the conversation with Bassanio. The intention with this production is scrupulous "loyalty to the text", and obviously to include every line that Shakespeare wrote, for the record. It is arguable that, like Hamlet, the play was never actually presented in its entirety, but cut and adapted according to requirement. In the hands of a highly skilled and popular clown the part of Launcelot Gobbo might possibly have been amusing, and it is said to have been written especially for Will Kempe. Otherwise the play would lose nothing by Gobbo's omission, since he is completely unnecessary to the plot, except, in passing, to demonstrate the basically unsympathetic character of his sometime master, Shylock, who is evidently also unloved by his daughter. Shylock is presented as naturally anti-social, prone to vindictive behaviour, and not necessarily typical of his people.
Perhaps the tedium of the opening scenes is deliberately calculated to throw the first appearance of Shylock into high relief. This scene is so brilliantly written it stupefies me every time I watch it. One can almost hear the clockwork of Shylock's mental machinery as he decides how he will plan to take advantage of Bassanio's request for the loan of 3,000 ducats, and how he arrives at the exaction of his "merry bond".
This production is ideal for anyone seeking to thoroughly understand the original script, or simultaneously follow it in print, but it is also highly entertaining to soak up Warren Mitchell's pitch-perfect interpretation of Shylock, a part he takes on with the utmost relish. Portia is also good, but the others are not exceptional, though the text means that not much is demanded of them. Criticism has been made of the settings. They seem to me perfectly fine, and more elaborate or exotic sets would merely distract, as they do elsewhere. In Shakespeare the words are everything, and the plainer the sets, as in Olivier's Othello, the better. Mitchell's accent has also come in for stick. Since 99% of the audience has no idea how Elizabethan English sounded, or the Italian of contemporary Venice, objections to Shylock's accent are fatuous.
There is an underlying suggestion that the Christians and the Jew are not really very different. They are equally greedy for gold. Hence the question: "Which is the merchant, and which is the Jew ?" Both are also out for revenge.
Perhaps the tedium of the opening scenes is deliberately calculated to throw the first appearance of Shylock into high relief. This scene is so brilliantly written it stupefies me every time I watch it. One can almost hear the clockwork of Shylock's mental machinery as he decides how he will plan to take advantage of Bassanio's request for the loan of 3,000 ducats, and how he arrives at the exaction of his "merry bond".
This production is ideal for anyone seeking to thoroughly understand the original script, or simultaneously follow it in print, but it is also highly entertaining to soak up Warren Mitchell's pitch-perfect interpretation of Shylock, a part he takes on with the utmost relish. Portia is also good, but the others are not exceptional, though the text means that not much is demanded of them. Criticism has been made of the settings. They seem to me perfectly fine, and more elaborate or exotic sets would merely distract, as they do elsewhere. In Shakespeare the words are everything, and the plainer the sets, as in Olivier's Othello, the better. Mitchell's accent has also come in for stick. Since 99% of the audience has no idea how Elizabethan English sounded, or the Italian of contemporary Venice, objections to Shylock's accent are fatuous.
There is an underlying suggestion that the Christians and the Jew are not really very different. They are equally greedy for gold. Hence the question: "Which is the merchant, and which is the Jew ?" Both are also out for revenge.