SHYLOCK
The 'Problem' of Shylock
(Written for the Venice, Italy performance, May 25, 2001)
Who is this vile man?
Why did Shakespeare plunk him dead centre in the middle of a comedy, “The Merchant of Venice?” How has he remained for almost 500 years one of the greatest characters in all of English Literature?
More importantly, why have so many contemporary theatre companies refused to present The Merchant and its mysterious puzzling Jew? Perhaps political correctness has choked the good sense out of us all.
These are among the issues that award-winning Canadian playwright, Mark Leiren-Young, has addressed so engagingly in “Shylock.”
An actor, dressed in period costume, steps suddenly on the stage and challenges you, in a famous speech, with a wildly caricatured snapshot of the Jewish villain from “The Merchant of Venice.” Soon the actor is removing his make-up and costume before your very eyes. He speaks directly to you. This is his last performance; the play has been closed. He must get some things off his chest.
In the following moments, arguments – and jokes – about censorship, the meaning of racism and the role of art in our lives are thrown at you for your consideration. In the end, the actor stands emotionally naked before you, having revealed far more than even he expected.
I was deeply honored to premier “Shylock” in August of 1996 at Bard on the Beach, Vancouver’s Shakespeare Festival and to reprise this great role all summer long in 2003 again at Bard. I have performed it to enthusiastic audiences at Christ Church Cathedral, the Norman Rothstein, Saltspring Island, and Whistler’s Millennium Place. I was especially thrilled to present “Shylock” in May 2001 to a sold-out house in Venice, Italy, but a few feet away from the Rialto and the ancient Jewish Ghetto.
-- David Berner
