Shakespeare: Love Across the Racial Divide | 3: The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown focuses on the complex role of Shylock, and how he navigates being a Jew in a Christian world.

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Prefaces to Shakespeare | The Merchant of Venice

A personal introduction to the play and its characters by Timothy West, who played Shylock in the 1980 Old Vic production of the play. "Though the confrontation of Jew and Christian provides an overpowering central theme, it is not just the story of Shylock. A lot of the comedy and drama is to do with the balancing of emotional and material considerations ... this is, I think, the bedrock of the play."