“Shylock's Return”: Translational Transactions in The Merchant of Venice on the Hebrew Stage

Abstract

This article addresses monetary, cultural, political and religious transactions, exchanges, conversions and translations between Jews and non-Jews in the play, “The Merchant of Venice,” in relation with Hebrew performances of the play and their social and political contexts. The article examines Leopold Jessner's production from 1936, Tyrone Guthrie production from 1959, Yossi Izae'li's production from 1972, and Hanan Snir's production from 1995 (both in Israel and in Germany). The discussion will address various facets of the complicated intercultural relations that the Merchant of Venice has come to symbolize to Hebrew speaking audiences