"The Merchant of Venice"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 36, Issue 917, 8 March 1957, Page 7

"The Merchant of Venice"

HE New Zealand Players’ new production is notable for a fine performance by John V. Trevor as Shylock and for some excellent staging. The chief failures are the conception of the character of Portia and a weakening of the texture of the play by a good deal of indifferent speaking of verse. Mr. Campion’s conception of Portia (Sydney Falconer) emphasised the youthfulness of the actress at the expense of the development of the character. In her first scene Portia was more a giggling, high-spirited teenager than the lady of Belmont. Her gaiety depended too much on gesture and mimicry and concealed the dignity and poise which Portia never loses. In the scenes with the suitors she put aside most of this and with Bassanio she suggested fleetingly the richness of the poetry. But at the end of the scene we were right back to the uninhibited fun of her first scene (complete with a gee-it’ll-be-fun ‘Ooh!’ from Nerissa). As a.result of this shifting, unsure conception of the character the Portia of the trial scene was an unconvincing antagonist for Shylock. Miss Falconer made a good attempt to make the Mercy speech dramatic but we would have needed to be more aware of Portia’s underlying strength and maturity of mind tor it to have been fully dramatic. John V. Trevor’s performance as Shylock was more consistent and one could sense the absorption of the actor in the part which Portia failed to convey. His

first scene was in many ways his best and the character of Shylock was established directly and forcefully. Nothing got in the way of the poetry. It was not Mr. Trevor’s fault that the complexity of Shylock’s personality came across less clearly in later scenes. The chief fault lay in the production of Shylock’s scene with Salerio and Solanio after his daughter has run off with Lorenzo. First, the impact of Shylock’s appearance in this scene was diminished oy the use of the traditional interpolation of Shylock returning to knock at his house after Jessica has left. This piece of "business" was presumably meant to gain sympathy for Shylock in his role of distressed father, but in doing so it interfered with the nice balance of conflicting emotions which Shakespeare embodies in Shylock’s own words. Shakespeare carefully heightens the expectancy of the audience for Shylock’s appearance through the earlier scene where Salerio and Salanio tell of his mounting passion, and it is hard to justify any addition to this skilfully planned sequence of scenes. Secondly, the lurking, shrouded figures who punctuated Shylock’s speeches with abusive cries were surely a mistake. The composite response of horror at Shylock’s lust for blood, contempt for his mercenary concern for his daughter and awareness of his fundamental humanity is meant to be aroused by the language and the action which flows naturally from it. Again the intended balance of the

scene was lost. In the trial scene Shylock dominated the stage and Mr. Trevor showed, particularly in the impressive movement and timing of his exit, his mastery of the role. Most of the minor characters were quite well played, although Susan Stovell as Nerissa was miscast as a mirthful confidante and was liable to have shaking shoulders at any point during the play. Barry Linehan as Antonio and Terence Bayler as Bassanio made the

most of their rather insubstantial parts and in the trial scene were both impressive. Kenneth Adams as Launcelot Gobbo was one of the» bést comics we have had from the Playérs and his mimicry and timing in the scene where he decides to leave Shylock were extremely good. Tim Elliott as Lorenzo and Bridget Armstrong as Jessica stole the last act away from the chief pair of lovers by their excellent handling of the loveliest lines in the play. They showed a sensitive appreciation of the richness and evocative power of the poetry and if the last act, with its lovers’ wrangles and fairy tale ending, caught the mood of the romantic setting it was largely because of them. The all too short lyric in Bassanio’s casket scene was sung very well and compensated for some of the poor speaking of verse which often robbed the play of its musical atmosphere. Salerio and Salanio at the beginning of the play, and Gratiano at his first appearance all spoke too quickly but later on all three improved. There were many excellences in the costuming and staging of the play with only a few incongruities. Thé casket scenes were very intelligently staged so as to leave an uncluttered central area, and other sets were adequate and unobtrusive. The loss of much of the poetry of the play weakened the pattern of contrasted mood and atmosphere which the staging tried to emphasise. This was a production with many minor triumphs but with an overall lack of unity in the conception of the characters and of sensitivity in the handling of verse

S.F.

J.