''The Merchant'' is a 1976 play in two acts by the English dramatist

Arnold Wesker Sir Arnold Wesker (24 May 1932 – 12 April 2016) was an English dramatist. He was the author of 50 plays, four volumes of short stories, two volumes of essays, much journalism and a book on the subject, a children's book, some poetry, and ot ...

. It is based on

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'', and focuses on the Jewish

Shylock Shylock () is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Merchant of Venice'' ( 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal villain. His defeat and forced conversion to Christianity form the climax ...

character, that play's principal

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain. Wesker began writing the play after seeing a 1973 performance by

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

. It premiered in Stockholm in 1976 and was later renamed ''Shylock''. A Broadway production was planned for fall 1977, with

Zero Mostel Samuel Joel "Zero" Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of comic characters including Tevye on stage in ''Fiddler on the Roof'', Pseudolus on stage and o ...

in the lead, following a pre-Broadway tryout at the

Forrest Theatre The Forrest Theatre is a live theatre venue at 1114 Walnut Street in the Center City area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has a seating capacity of 1,851 and is managed by The Shubert Organization.

in Philadelphia and the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in Washington, D.C.

John Dexter John Dexter (2 August 1925 – 23 March 1990) was an English theatre, opera and film director. Theatre Born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British Army during the Second World War. F ...

served as director. The production played one preview on Friday, September 2, 1977, after which Mostel fell ill and was taken to the hospital. Performances were canceled until he could return, however Mostel died on September 8 from cardiac arrest. The remainder of the Philadelphia engagement of ''The Merchant'' was canceled. The production played the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theatre, with Mostel's understudy, Joseph Leon, in the leading role of Shylock Kolner. Previews began on September 28, the play opened on September 30 and closed November 5. ''The Merchant'' moved to Broadway, beginning previews on November 9 and opening on November 16 at the Plymouth Theatre. The play did not receive favorable reviews and closed on November 19, following eight previews and five performances. The production lost an estimated $650,000. In addition to Leon, the Broadway company featured John Clements as Antonio Querini,

Roberta Maxwell Roberta Farnham Maxwell (born June 17, 1941) is a Canadian actress. Biography Maxwell began studying for the stage in her early teens. She joined John Clark for two years as the child co-host of his '' Junior Magazine'' series for CBC Televis ...

as Portia Contarini,

Marian Seldes Marian Hall Seldes (August 23, 1928 – October 6, 2014) was an American actress. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for '' A Delicate Balance'' in 1967, and received subsequent nominations ...

as Rivka Kolner, Julie Garfield as Jessica Kolner, Gloria Gifford as Nerissa,

Everett McGill Charles Everett McGill III (born on October 21, 1945) is an American retired actor, who rose to prominence for his portrayal of a caveman in '' Quest for Fire'' (1981). He went on to have prominent roles in the films ''Dune'' (1984), ''Silver ...

as Lorenzo Pisani, Nicolas Surovy as Bassanio Visconti, Riggs O'Hara as Graziano Sanudo, and John Seitz as Tubal di Ponti. Wesker wrote a book about the challenge of mounting play in 1999, ''The Birth of Shylock and the Death of Zero Mostel''. The book mostly pulls from the diary Wesker kept at the time. In this play, Shylock is a good man and the good friend of

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

, the title character in Shakespeare's play. They bond in their love of knowledge and mutual dislike of the antisemitism in their community. Shylock's demand for a pound of flesh is meant as a jest, but he cannot retract it. Both Shylock and Antonio are relieved when the demand is denied in court. Reviewing ''The Merchant'', critic Michael Billington wrote "Wesker’s point comes across clearly: that anti-Jewish prejudice is ingrained in English life."

John Gross John Gross FRSL (12 March 1935 – 10 January 2011) was an English man of letters. A leading intellectual, writer, anthologist, and critic. ''The Guardian'' (in a tribute titled "My Hero") and ''The Spectator'' were among several publication ...

, another critic, stated that "As a humanistic sermon, ''The Merchant'' has much to recommend it. As a play, it lacks bite".

References

*Essay on the play: Kevin De Ornellas, "'The Law is a Terrifying Thing: Anti-semitic Misuse of the Law in Arnold Wesker's ''Shylock''". ''Liverpool Law Review'', 2023. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10991-023-09347-5 {{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant, The Plays by Arnold Wesker Plays set in the 16th century Plays set in Italy Plays and musicals based on The Merchant of Venice 1976 plays

See also

References