In this ‘Merchant of Venice,’ tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight
Igor Golyak’s production brings the show back to a comedic mode the way Shakespeare intended — to make a point about antisemitism
Shylock
The Latest
-
Theater -
Theater Are We Ready To Reckon With ‘The Merchant Of Venice’?
In May 1943, at Vienna’s Burg theater, the Nazi party staged its most famous production of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.” It starred Werner Krauss, a man so anti-Semitic that he is said to have asked Joseph Goebbels to make a public announcement clarifying that he was not Jewish, but rather habitually played Jewish caricatures…
-
Culture Why Have So Many Jews Wanted To Play Shylock?
Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” with Shylock, the vengeful Jewish money-lender, is seen by many as anti-Semitic. Yet Jewish actors and directors have been drawn to the play. “Wrestling with Shylock: Jewish Responses to The Merchant of Venice,” a collection of essays edited by Edna Nahshon and Michael Shapiro from Cambridge University Press, tries to explain…
-
Culture Are All Jewish Men Shylocks?
Shylock Is My Name By Howard Jacobson Hogarth Shakespeare, 288 pages, $25 What to do with Shylock? I was pondering this question recently while browsing in a Barnes and Noble, when I noticed that they’d helpfully labeled the Humor shelf, “Books that make you laugh.” Especially with regard to some of them (“What Would Jesus…
-
Life Licoricia of Winchester’s Guide to Having It All
The word “moneylender” evokes the image of Shylock, the Western canon’s merciless Jewish anti-hero. However, as is the case with most stereotypes, the historical reality was much more diverse and nuanced. Moneylending, vital to the growth of kingdoms and empires throughout the middle Ages, provided a stepping-stone to independence, wealth and influence not only to…
-
Breaking News Greek Ex-Finance Minister Lampooned as Shylock in Cartoon
The Greek Jewish community protested after one of Greece’s main newspapers published a caricature of former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis as a “Jewish moneylender.” The image, which shows Varoufakis wearing a giant black skullcap and hunched over a ledger, counting bags and coins of gold, was published Friday in Ta Nea, one of the country’s…
-
Breaking News Joe Biden Sorry for Calling Unscrupulous Lenders ‘Shylock’
Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged that he made a “poor choice of words” in using the term “Shylock” to describe unscrupulous lenders. Biden was reacting Wednesday to remarks by Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League’s national director, in response to the vice president’s use of the term this week. Speaking to the Legal Services Organization, a…
-
Culture Public Accusation Against Woody Allen Has Ugly Whiff of a Lynch Mob
In the weeks since Mia Farrow took to Twitter to voice her disdain for the lifetime achievement award Woody Allen was given at this year’s Golden Globes, everyone and his sister has flooded the Internet with an opinion about Allen, Farrow’s daughter Dylan and what may or may not have transpired between them twenty-two years…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
News Your complete guide to Trump’s Jewish advisers and pro-Israel cabinet
- 2
Fast Forward Why neo-Nazis marched in Ohio this weekend, and almost every weekend in the US
- 3
Fast Forward Trump AG nominee Matt Gaetz has left a trail of antisemitic comments
- 4
Opinion The group behind Project 2025 has a plan to protect Jews. It will do the opposite.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward ICC issues arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant
-
Fast Forward More than 55 Jewish groups come out against terrorism bill that could threaten nonprofits
-
Fast Forward Why the Senate’s Israel vote matters, as Democrats divide on the Jewish state
-
Fast Forward Jessica Tisch, Jewish public servant, appointed as commissioner of NYPD
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
