SHYLOCK

By the Book Productions—Cinematheque

At the beginning and at the end of this production, sole actor, John Huston recites famous excerpts of text spoken by the character Shylock in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, while fully inhabiting that character.

In between, his character is an actor who has taken considerable flak for portraying this supposedly stereotypical and negative Jewish personage in Shakespeare’s supposedly anti-Semitic play, and who defends that role and that play.

It is essentially a play about a play, but, more deeply, this show is a lengthy (90-minute) meditation on various aspects of the philosophy of art. What is the purpose of art? Do changing societal mores make some art obsolete and unacceptable? What is the limit to which we should allow art to challenge us, before it becomes potentially dangerous?

This show clearly supports the ongoing staging of The Merchant of Venice, but it also raises questions for which there are no simple answers. Best of all, Huston keeps things captivating throughout.

Konrad Antony