Shylock's message for today
The Merchant of Venice. Play by William Shakespeare, produced by Peter Hall with Dustin Hoffman as Shylock Reviewed by Judith Arkwright The greatest thing about Shakespeare's plays is their ability to endure through genera- tions Peter Hail's production of The Merchant of Venice at the Phoenix Theatre till September, highlights all the issues that would interest a modern audience: racism, sexism, the heartlessness of a society ob- sessed with money are all given an airing in this most tragic of all Shakespeare's comedies. The focal point of this produc- tion is the tragedy of Shylock, the Jewish moneylender seeking revenge on the hypocritical and racist Venetian traders with whom he is obliged to deal. The central metaphor of the play is money and the way it dominates SOCIALIST OUTLOOK LETTERS Socialist Outlook in duff headlines scandal I wish to disassociate myself from heading to my article on South Africa in Socialist Outlook 16 —'Mandela and Moscow join in ANC policy switch'. This is the sort of headline one would expect to see in the tabloid press, not in a serious political journal, and completely distorts what I wrote about Man- dela. Far from ascribing Nelson Mandela a pivo- tal role in conjunction with the Kremlin, I simply expressed an opinion that 'the pro- negotiation tendency must ahve been further strengthened by (his)letters to the British Am- bassador... (and) Buthelezi'. This is a far cry from what is implied by the sensationalist headline, and I think my own title 'South Africa - Changing Perspectives' would have been more appropriate. SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 17, Summer 1989
REVLEWS/ LETTERS all relationships including rela- tions between Christians and Jews. The interpretation of Shylock given by screen actor Dustin Hoffman, who brings all his pathos mixed with pride to the role, further underlines this The play was written against a background of mounting and institutionalised racism against the Jewish community. In 1515- 16 the Venetian State had decided to confine the entire Jewish community to one area - one of the first ghettoes. Jews were not allowed to own land basted for turning to money lend- ing. As Shylock points out the rich traders and landowners of Venice were not above borrow. ing money to finance their ven- tures and then promulgating racist propaganda and insults against those who lent them the As in Thatcher's Britain, money dominates every charac- ters fate. Shylock symbolically demands a pound of flesh in pay- ment of his debt from Antonio. Antonio shows his love of his My original banned since Sharpeville in 1960. Charlie van Gelderen, Cambridge Long arm of Delors nationalism, but has failed to be in the van- the redressing this by defining what a positive policy for a socialist Europe might look like. ETUC officials constitute leaderships': we could do without such abstract a-priori thinking in a serious journal. reforms are all empty 'facades' because capitalism is still in power. Does that mean that we object to the NHS? The answer is ob- vious, and likewise for Delors "social charter'; it is foolish to counterpose reform to revolu- tion (Luxemburg), especially when Thatcher, isolated in Europe and her party split, is dig- ging her own pit to fall into. Chris Madoc
friend Bassanio by giving him the money he borrowed from Shylock. Portia, being a woman, sees through all this, and remarks ironically to her lover Bassanio when offering to help pay the debt that Since you are dear bought I will love you dear'. One cannot help feeling that in drawing out and emphasising this theme Peter Hall must have had in mind the fate of British theatres under Thatcher, now de- pendent on private sponsorship, and not all with the ability to at- tract big name stars like Dustin Hoffman to grace their produc- Hoffman's Shylock plots his revenge in a quiet, calculating way but he is not portrayed as cruel in demanding his pound of flesh - he is proud in fighting his humiliation at the hands of the racists who spit upon him and torment him. He is motivated in this, not by money or material gain but by grief at the loss of his daughter who has gone and married one of these yuppies, and by a deter- mination to restore his lost pride. Like all Shakespeare's heroes he A small point; paragraph 2 suggests that 90 organisations have been banned in the current state of emergency, when the number is 32. refered to 90 organisations Reilly, SO No16). I fear that if socialists are not to miss new opportunties in the 1990's they will need to move on from defending "maginot' positions on Europe. The left prides itself on inter- guard of addressing new problems politically. Socialist Outlook 15 goes some way towards However, it is simply untrue to say that all "treacherous Later we are told that social democratic economic status.
does not win out, and to modern audiences there is a disappoint- ment in not seeing the racists get their just desert. But as with Lear or Hamlet or Macbeth, Shylock's heroism lies in his humanity - his ability to feel deep passions and to struggle to the bitter end. The passage in which Shylock challenges the racism of Venetian society has all the rhythm and eloquence of a Mar- tin Luther King speech. In many of Shakespeare's plays, the women are only able to act on their world and show their true abilities when they are dressed as men. Portia, played with great energy by Geraldine James, is on the wrong side against Shylock but she is one of the best of Shakespeare's strong women, combining a sharp wit and intellect with an ability to ex- perience human emotion. If you can get tickets for the this sumptuous production, it's well worth a visit. It is beautiful to look at and intelligently and sensitively interpreted. Return tickets may be available on cer- tain days because of the effects of the rail strike ! Short and sharp It's wonderful that Socialist Outlook has finally started to take culture seriously — bringing in someone to review a collection of who "hates short stories (Jean This is a genuine breakthrough in develop- ing a revolutionary socialist critique of litera- ture and could be followed up by film reviews from someone who hates the cinema or some- one writing about television programmes who does't have access to a television. I'm sure it would be every bit as successful. Leaving aside content, there are political considerations about the form of the short story that relate to class, race and gender. The oral tradition of storytelling, where the narrative is purposefully shortened and the concision made particularly incisive, is a direct and dialectical progentitor of the short The time that is available io individuals for reading or writing — not to mention their devloped skills relates to that person's socio- The short story is not implicitly a revolu- tionary form of expression. But it can be. Steve Taylor, Camden Page 33
The Student Union, Pond Street November 11th & 12th, 1989 Registration from 10am, Saturday Conference 11-5 Saturday, 10-4 Sunday For further information contact: PO Box 118, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S44 5UD
LOCIALIST CONFERENCE Sponsors so far include: • TGWU Region 6. •Liaison Committee for the Defence of Trade Unions. •Durham NUM. •Campaign Group of Labour MPs. •Women for Socialism. •Trade Unionists against Section 28. •Construction Safety Campaign. • Hazards 88. •NALGO Broad Left. •Socialist Teachers Alliance. •Solidarity Network.
WORKSHOPS ON: Tackling "New Realism"; Fighting the Anti-Union Laws; Positive Action; The Changing Workforce; New Management Techniques, Defending Public Services; Health & Safety; Training; Internationalism; Solidarity; etc. Which Way for Socialists in the Unions? Sheffield Poly (opposite BR Station)