Shylock

Synopsis: Set in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice, 1563, and narrated from Shylock’s perspective, this rewriting of Shakespeare’s play by British playwright Arnold Wesker retains the core plot of Shakespeare’s play but re-envisions the relationships between the protagonists. Juliet Stevenson as Portia and Henry Goodman as Shylock.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Radio
Transmission details: 5 Mar 2006 at 19:30 (Channel: BBC Radio 3)
Duration: 120 mins

Notes: This production was accompanied by music from 16th century Jewish composer Salamone Rossi, sung by Nanette Ross and played by the Siena Ensemble. The Ensemble was formed by the Jewish dramatist Michelene Wandor, originally to provide music for her BBC Radio 3 play, Orlando and Friends.
History: One of Wesker’s most neglected plays (performed only once in the UK from the time it was written in 1976), its initial Broadway run in New York came to a tragic halt when Zero Moster, the actor playing Shylock, died between the first and the second preview. The diaries that Wesker wrote during the rehearsals were subsequently published by Fromm International in 1999 under the title "The Birth of Shylock and the Death of Zero Mostel". BBC has bought the film options on the book.
Textual information: The script of the play has been published by Penguin Books, London, under the title Shylock and Other Plays in the Penguin Plays and Screenplays Series, Vol. 4 (1990).

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