Join us for a thrilling and humorous tale of love, hate, justice and mercy. Watch as Shylock sets in motion a dark revenge plot, and as Bassanio desperately tries to win the hand of the wealthy Portia. Easily gain insight into complex themes like prejudice and revenge, as well as the fascinating world in which Shakespeare lived.
BBC filmed stage production, The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare about a merchant named Antonio who defaults on a large loan provided by a moneylender.
A rich merchant, Antonio is depressed for no good reason, until his good friend Bassanio comes to tell him how he's in love with Portia. Portia's father has died and left a very strange will: only the man that picks the correct casket out of three, silver, gold, and lead can marry her.
Bassanio requires a lot of money if he wants to marry Portia. Unable to procure it from elsewhere, he must make a deadly deal with Shylock, a cruel moneylender from the Semitic ghetto.
Centuries before The Merchant of Venice was written, England became the first country in medieval Europe to expel its Jewish population. Abraham addresses the anti-Semitism that characterised Europe in Shakespeare's time.